Sins of the Innocent
by ssj hotaru
Summary: A new threat arises in the Digiworld, and the gang is forced to challenge themselves in all new ways to defeat it. But they've been separated, headed in different directions to fight on different sides in a war that could destroy all of the digiworld! R
1. Shadow on the Shore

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Disclaimer: I state no claim to the popular anime Digimon. I'm merely writing a fan fictional story using the characters. I do, however, claim the plot and ask that no one write a sequel or story dealing with this particular piece of work without my consent. Thank you-

Sins of the Innocent 

By: ssj_hotaru 

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Shadow on the Shore

A young girl in a pink cowgirl styled dress walked leisurely through the strange forest with her Digimon friend, her pink hat hung from a string around her neck down to the middle of her back. She looked around and saw a beautiful lake with trees that seemed unsettlingly familiar and the weird feeling that she'd been to this place before crept into her. 

"Palmon, have we been here before?" Mimi asked, trying to gouge out what made everything seem so memorable and receiving the sense that it was dancing just on the edge of her thoughts. Palmon looked up at her in a mixture of confused disbelief.

"You mean you don't remember?" Mimi looked around once more, trying to pick out every minute detail and saw an old, rusty and half crushed trolley car. It triggered something but it was gone before she could grasp it and after probing her mind and drawing a blank, she turned back to Palmon.

"No" She sighed and shook her head, "I don't remember anything." 

"Oh Mimi!" Palmon said with affectionate exasperation, "This is the place where Gabumon first digivolved to Garurumon." 

Images came flooding through her mind of the trolley car and Seadramon, she could vividly remember Matt risking his life for his little brother and how frightened she'd been. Shaking her head to get rid of the past memories, she looked down at Palmon.

"I remember now, It's getting kinda late, I think we should get back before the group starts to worry." Palmon nodded and they both started back to camp.

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*****

Mimi sat staring into the flames of the groups campfire, absently listening to the conversation around her. Her friends seemed at the moment to be engrossed in reasoning why they were still stuck in the Digiworld and she wanted nothing of their theories. She didn't want to fight anymore, what was the point, there were no more really evil Digimon, they had no reason to be here and yet they were. She didn't think she could go through another battle knowing that she could lose a friend at any moment.

A few hours later everyone but Mimi was asleep. She'd taken first watch because she had to much on her mind to even think of sleep. Their camp wasn't very far from the lake, she could see the full moon shining down onto the glassy surface from her seat by the fire and it looked inviting although she knew she couldn't leave.

Unexpectedly, the sound of a harmonica reached through the silence to whisper seductively in her ear. She came to her feet with a start and gazed wide eyed toward the lake where the music was coming from, imagining that she could see a shadowy silhouette sitting on the sandy shore. "Matt?" She murmured breathlessly to herself. She moved a foot tentatively in the direction of the music then stopped and looked back at Palmon and her friends sleeping in total confidence of her. "They'll be fine" She said to herself, "I'll only be a few minutes." She ran the rest of the way.

She was out of breath by the time she broke the line of trees and collapsed to her knees on the sandy shore. The music was louder here and she raised her head to look around. At first she didn't see anything, but then, a little off to the right, she saw a dark figure propped against a piece of twisted driftwood with hands raised to his face, playing solemnly on his harmonica. She saw that his eyes were closed and the sound was a little more soulful than what she'd grown used to hearing as she drifted off to sleep during their first nights in the Digiworld.

She didn't know how long she'd knelt on the shore just watching him, but when she finally stood, her legs tingled and felt as though a thousand needles were pricking her from her hips to her toes and she almost crumpled back to the ground; but she ignored the feeling and took a few stumbling steps forward. _I can't believe he's really here! _She thought numbly, still moving towards him like a moth to a flame. _I have to be dreaming, this can't be real. _The thought was not exactly a groundless one since she had been having rather strange dreams that involved him since he'd left the group.

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Well here's a thought genius She told herself sarcastically, _maybe you should just go over there and see instead of worrying at it!_ She slowly walked towards him, her eyes glued to his back in disbelief. 

Mimi stopped when she was close enough to touch him. Amazed that he hadn't noticed her yet, she lifted her hand and gently tapped him on the shoulder. "Matt?"

He jumped in surprise, the music coming to an abrupt halt as he turned around glaring, one hand clenched into a fist while the other held his harmonica in a death grip. His eyebrows rose quickly and his angry look faded into one of shock when he saw it was Mimi. 

"What are you doing here?" He asked curtly, turning back to look out across the lake.

"I was on watch and heard you playing." She said, choosing to overlook the rudeness in his tone and sat down next to him.

"If you're on watch don't you think you should be getting back." He commented, hesitantly looking in her direction out of the corner of his eyes. 

"Nah, they'll be fine, Palmon's still there." She said. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she looked around and for the first time noticed something amiss. "Where's Gabumon?"

Matt looked over at Mimi and then back at the lake. "MetalGarurumon is watching over the camp." He let out an irritated sigh and stood quickly. "Look, I really need to be going." Mimi stood up next to him.

"Maybe I could come with you and-" 

"No!" He cut her off sharply, then gentled his tone. "No, you need to just… go back to your watch and pretend none of this ever happened okay? I just need to be alone for awhile can you understand that?" When she nodded mutely, feeling somehow rejected. He smiled. "Thanks, and Mimi?" He looked her in the eyes.

"Yes?"

"Don't tell anyone we've been watching over you guys."

"Okay." She answered, looking at the ground. Matt walked a few feet away from her before she heard him stop. She looked up, curious as to why he had and she saw him looking at her thoughtfully. 

"I'll see you around Mimi." Then he took the last few steps and vanished into the foliage of the forest.

She stood a few minutes later staring intently at the spot where he'd disappeared, not knowing what she was expecting. When it was obvious what ever it was wasn't going to happen, she turned and walked back towards the camp solemnly, glancing back over her shoulder to the lake every so often to see the moon reflecting in the water.

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*****

The next day they continued their walk around the lake until they reached the opposite side and, finding the site satisfactory, decided to camp there. It was getting dark and it seemed as though everyone was exhausted from the trek since they were nodding off while eating. After the light supper of strange fish and fruits, they began to look for comfortable places to sleep and soon there was only Sora and Tai who were having an in depth discussion on the current situation down by the lake and Jyou who was sitting beside Mimi carrying on a one sided conversation with her while she stared up at the night sky, completely oblivious of the confession he was trying to make.

"-We've been friends for a long time and we do seem to have grown closer to each other in that time we spent alone together and I was just wondering if you had… well, if you felt anything towards… You know like… Mimi are you okay?" He broke off to asked as her eyes quivered slightly and grew bright with unshed tears. She didn't answer and he looked at her worriedly. "Mimi?" She blinked as if coming out of a daze and glanced at him.

"I'm sorry, were you saying something Jyou?" Jyou looked at the ground sadly and sighed.

"No, I wasn't saying anything." He stood up from the rock they'd been sitting on by the fire and looked away. "Well, goodnight Mimi." He walked over and stretched out beside Koushiro.

"What was that about?" She asked, looking down at Palmon who was fast asleep by her feet. Sliding down to the ground beside her friend, Mimi smiled and put an arm around her while she snuggled up "Sweet dreams Palmon."


	2. Terror in the Night

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Disclaimer: I state to claim to the popular anime Digimon. I'm merely writing a fan fictional short story using the characters. I do, however, claim the plot and ask that no one write a sequel or story dealing with this particular piece of work without my consent. Thank you-

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Chapter Two

Mimi's eyes snapped open and widened in fear. "Hurry! Hey wake up! WAKE UP!!!" Tai yelled frantically while Greymon battled a tall, vampire looking Digimon. The group came awake one by one and gapped in disbelief at the two Digimon.

"It's Myotismon!" Sora screamed.

"Oh you think." Jyou said sarcastically from behind her.

"But I thought we beat that Dracula wannabe!?" Mimi half asked, half shrieked from beside Sora.

Takeru sat beside Hikari and they both watched in silence as Greymon digivolved to MetalGreymon and fired his Giga Blasters at Myotismon. Tai's eyes widened in distress, "Hey, I could sure use some help about now!" He yelled as Myotismon effortlessly swatted the attack aside.

"Right!" Everyone said while Mimi stood off to the side with Palmon and watched in horror.

***

"Byomon digivolve to…Birdramon."

"Gomamon digivolve to…Ikokumon." 

"Tentomon digivolve to…Kabutarimon."

"Patamon digivolve to…Angemon."

"Gatomon digivolve to…Angewoman."

***

Mimi, eyes wide with terror, didn't dare turn away when the other Digimon jumped forward to attack but where all knocked back by Myotismon's Grizzly Wing.

"Is that the best you've got? I thought you were all the _mighty _digidestined." He sneered.

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That voice, Mimi thought, _that's not Myotismon's voice! It's a trick!_ Mimi had an idea.

"Hey Koushiro!" She jumped up and down waving her arms to get his attention. "KOUSHIRO!!!" She screamed as loud as could. Koushiro turned and looked at her.

"What is it?" He yelled from on the other side of Myotismon.

"Look at your computer thingy!" She yelled back. Koushiro gave her a funny look but took his computer out of its carrier and clicked on the Digimon analyzer. He looked at the monitor in confusion.

Instead of Myotismon, it showed an orangeish blob called Illusionmon. "How did she-" He was cut off as a scream ripped through the sounds of battle, causing all noise to cease but the creature's evil laugh and Mimi's helpless whimpers.

Everyone stared at her helplessly where she was held infront of him like a shield, his clawed hands digging into her waist. "Mimi!" Jyou screamed. Mimi cracked one eye and looked at him, then clenched her eyes shut and screamed as pain spread from her waist to her fingers and toes and she fought to escape him.

He laughed deep in his throat and leaned his head against hers. "You're all weak, hardly worthy of my time, I should just kill you all. But… "He drawled, "I could have fun with this one." The Digimon turned his head against hers and flicked a purple tongue along her temple. Mimi's brows furrowed in disgust and she struggled more violently than before.

"I don't think so!" A familiar voice spoke up from behind him. Myotismon turn in time to see MetalGarurumon's Metal Wolf Claw hit him in the side. He screamed and released Mimi, who crumpled to the ground bonelessly, as the digimon turned to ice and fell apart. Matt ran to Mimi and knelt beside her. "Are you okay?" He asked, helping her to a sitting position.

"No!" She sobbed, "He…he… That thing touched me!" She clenched the green fabric of his short in both hands and buried her face against his chest as she started to cry, her whole body shaking convulsively.

Matt looked down at her in surprise, what ever he'd been expecting; it wasn't for her to literally cry on his shoulder, he groped for something to say to bring her out of her hysteria while at the same time giving in to an impulse and wrapping his arms protectively around her trembling frame. "Hey Mimi, it's oka-" He was interrupted by the laughing voice of that thing that had looked like Myotismon.

"You may have one this battle digidestined, but next time, I _wont_ underestimate you!" The blob hanging in midair laughed again.

Tai stepped forward with Takeru and Hikari beside him. "We'll be waiting!" He challenged, clenching a fist at the orange thing.

"This isn't over!" It said again, this time with none of the humor that had laced it's voice before. He looked down at Matt and Mimi sitting huddled beneath him. "I have unfinished business to settle with you two. I'll be back." Then it floated away, rippling slightly as it cackled insanely. 

"You're not going to stop it Tai?" Hikari asked, looking up at her big brother.

"Nah, it's just got a stick in its ear or something." He said smiling.

"If it even has an ear." Sora added and everyone laughed nervously at her joke. Everyone that is but Matt and Mimi, and Jyou who stood watching the two of them sitting on the ground alone.

Matt stood up, helping Mimi to her feet; he smiled warmly and she manage to force a teary smile in return, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Matt…" she started shakily, but he hurried to interrupt her.

"Well, goodbye Mimi." He said, patting her on the shoulder. Her smile faded.

"You're leaving! Where are you going?"

"Who knows." He said, then winked at her and turned to walk away with MetalGarurumon, not even stopping to look back.

Takeru ran up beside Mimi and waved to his brother's retreating back. "Bye Matt! Thank you! See you soon!" He called after he had already vanished into the shadows of the surrounding trees.

As soon as Matt left, the spirits dampened again. The laughing stopped, there was no more sad attempts at a joke, only everyone looking at the ground in some conscious agreement not to look at each other. Jyou was the first to speak, his words weren't meant to be reassuring, just to get everyone back to reality.

"So whose watch is it?" Everyone raised their eyes and looked questioningly at one another.

"It's mine." Mimi said quietly, walking back to join the group.

"No it's mine." Sora announced firmly, casting Mimi a worried glance. Mimi looked at her friend thankfully but shook her head.

"That's okay Sora, I can do this." Sora's concern grew.

"But Mimi… Are you sure?" Mimi smiled at Sora.

"I'll be all right. You all should get some sleep." She looked them all in the eyes. "You all look so tired." She said, still smiling. All but Sora and Jyou nodded their agreement and reluctantly went to look for comfortable sleeping spaces.

"I'll stay up with you for a while, keep you company." Sora volunteered, looking at Jyou's reluctant face.

"You really don't have to Sora, I'm fine… Really." Mimi said, sitting down on a log by the fire. 

"It'll make me feel better if I could." Sora insisted.

"Well… If it'll make you happy…" Mimi replied dully, staring sadly into the flames. Jyou smiled shyly at Sora and mouthed a _thank you_. She smiled back and winked at him, causing him to blush and hurry off to find a sleeping place of his own. Sora shook her head, her smile still lingering on her face despite her misgivings, as she sat down beside Mimi, her mind full of questions she was just dying to know the answers to. 


	3. Depart for Destiny

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Disclaimer: I state to claim to the popular anime Digimon. I'm merely writing a fan fictional short story using the characters. I do, however, claim the plot and ask that no one write a sequel or story dealing with this particular piece of work without my consent. Thank you-

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Chapter Three

Sora thought things through silently, watching Mimi stare into the fire though she was almost positive she wasn't looking at the flames. She wanted to ask her a question but Mimi looked so depressed that she wasn't sure how she's take the gentle inquiry. Sora thought about the time they'd spent together and the heart to heart talks they used to have when no one else was around and thought that maybe a little girl talk would soften her up enough to answer a few prying questions.

Sora took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face. "Hey Mimi."

"Hmm?" Mimi asked, blinking and looking up at her.

"Remember before all this stuff how we used to lay awake sometimes and whisper to each other when we thought that no one could hear?"

"Yeah…?" Mimi answered wearily, eyes shifting restlessly as if not quite trusting Sora's sideways approach.

"Well, how about we catch up on some chitchat, what do you say?" She asked eagerly, hoping that she would agree even though her nervy manner had hurt her feelings.

"I…guess it wouldn't hurt." She hesitated, as if unsure if such a thing would be safe.

"Okay then, I'll start." Sora leaned forward, staring intently into her friends eyes. "Out of the boys, who do you like the most?" Mimi blinked in puzzlement.

"Who do I like… Well, to be perfectly honest, I'd never even thought about it that way." She said, placing her forefinger on her chin thoughtfully. "I guess I used to like Tai, but he's just a friend, Koushiro kinda cute but…I'm sure you can understand that he's not exactly my type and Jyou…Well, Jyou's just Jyou, he's like my big brother. I suppose I don't really like anyone." She admitted shrugging.

"Oh…" Sora sighed. Looking into the flames she started to think about who _she_ liked and a light blush stained her cheeks. Mimi didn't miss a detail.

"What about you Sora, who do _you_ like?" Sora looked up at Mimi in shock, then guiltily looked towards the brown haired boy sleeping with his back against a tree. Her face turned a few shades redder.

"N-no-nobody." She stuttered, looking away from Tai to stare at her shoes.

"Oh right! Like I'm _that_ clueless! I'm not blind Sora, I see the way you're always looking at Tai, and just now you were blushing." Mimi pointed at her smiling. "you still are."

Sora's blush cooled instantly when she realized something. "What about Matt, Mimi? You didn't mention him, when he was here you were always looking at him and trying to stay by him and you agreed with him even when nobody else did!" Mimi's eyes widened in shock. _Did I really do that? Well, maybe…_

"So do you like him or not?" Sora asked, eager to know the answer since she believed Mimi's reaction was suspicious.

"I don't know, maybe…" She was interrupted by the whisper of a harmonica. She looked out towards the lake where she could scarcely see the shadowy figure of Matt sitting on the shore.

"Why don't you go find out." She said smiling, "I'll take over your watch." Mimi's eyes filled with tears at how understanding her friend was and she pulled Sora in to a tight hug.

"Oh Sora, you're the best!" She returned the hug with a smile before pulling away and holding her at arms length.

"Go tell him how you feel Mimi." She whispered softly. Mimi blinked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean Sora? I don't even know if I feel for him like that." Sora's smile stretched tighter across her face.

"Just say what comes to heart, if you do, then you'll know."

"Oh Sora!" She sobbed again and then pulled her back into a hug. They separated a few minutes later and Mimi wiped away a tear.

"You'd better go now, before he slips away again." Sora said, turning her towards the lake. Mimi stood and started to walk in that direction, but stopped to look back at Sora.

"Thanks for the tips Sora, but you really should follow your own advice." Then she turned and ran through the trees down to the lake. Sora glanced over at Tai's sleeping figure again and sighed. _If only it were that simple._

For the first time she realized that Palmon and Byomon had heard the conversation. She looked down at the little plantlike digimon and suddenly got the feeling that Mimi wouldn't be coming back. "Palmon, I think you better go with her."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, I…just have this feeling." She answered staring down at the two shadows sitting together on the shore and smiled as the music stopped. Palmon nodded and slowly turned to follow after her.

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*****

Mimi walked nervously up behind Matt. His back was facing her again as he played softly on his harmonica but she thought that he knew she was there. She tapped him on the shoulder and he turned his head just enough so that he could see her, though he never stopped playing. The music became softer and took on the old tune that she used to lay awake and listen to before Myotismon and the DarkMasters. She sat down beside him and started to hum along as she got lost in the music. He played one last drawn out note before replacing the instrument in his pocket and turned to her with a small smile.

"I'd hoped you would come." He said, looking her in the eyes. Mimi gulped and nodded dumbly, lost in his sapphire depths. "Anyways," Matt went on, his smile fading as he looked away to stare out across the water. "Mimi, since you're the only one who knows that I've been following you guys, I thought that maybe I should tell you that…" He paused as if unsure of what or how to say something.

"That…?" Mimi prodded, both afraid and anxious to hear what he was going to say.

"That… I've decided to move on!" Mimi's eyes widened and she gasped in dismay. "How can I accomplish anything," He continued sadly, almost if he was trying to convince himself aswell as her. "if I'm constantly trailing after you guys."

Mimi glance shyly over at Matt and force a smile. "I know exactly how you feel." She said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder as he turned to look at her.

"You do?" Mimi's smile faded at the vulnerability she heard in his voice, she turned away to gaze up at the moon achingly.

"Yeah, I've been feeling the same way lately, It's the same way I felt when I tried to break off from the group the first time. I tried to do it on my own, but everyone seems to think I can't take care of myself and I want so hard to prove them wrong!" She looked back down at the water and her voice lost it's strength "No one wants to give me the chance though. I want to show them that I can be caring like Sora, I tried Matt, I really did, but I was still selfish!" Tears started to fill her eyes and she blinked to try to clear her blurry vision.

"Sora's so nice and everyone likes her. She's caring and she never thinks about herself, not like me." A tear fell from her eye to trailed down her cheek despite her best efforts and she furiously wiped it away with her hand.

"Hey Mimi, don't cry." He said softly, cupping her chin in one hand and lifting her face so that the moonlight poured over her. Another tear escaped and Matt wiped it away with a gloved thumb. "You shouldn't cry over something like that, you'll never be like Sora because you're someone special already. You're Mimi! You have your own place and destiny." She closed her eyes and smiled secretly. _Matt's right_ She thought _I have my own destiny._ Then all thoughts were banished when, from nowhere, she heard a soft, feminine voice.

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:Go with him: It whispered softly, yet somehow she heard it just as clearly as if someone had screamed it.

Her eyes opened and she looked at Matt stubbornly. "I'm coming with you!" She declared. His hand snapped back from her face as if it had been burned and he opened his mouth to object but he couldn't seem to come up with an argument though he knew there was an ample supply somewhere. _It's like I want her to come with me,_ He thought curiously. _Maybe I do? I really don't want to be alone anymore and this could be _my_ destiny._

He looked back into Mimi's soft brown eyes and smiled. "It'll be dangerous." Mimi smiled back, both not noticing when Palmon walked up.

"I know." She answered.

"You sure you're up to it?" Mimi arched an eyebrow. 

"We'll just have to see."

Matt stood to helped Mimi to her feet and they both walked towards the place where Gabumon was watching over the camp, Palmon trailing quietly behind.

Unknown to them, a pair of ice blue eyes were watching from behind a tree, the corner of a mouth turned up in an evil smirk to expose one long, sharp fang. _:You can not escape now, children of Sincerity and Friendship, you will fulfil your destinies!:_


	4. A Dip in Lavender

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Disclaimer: I state to claim to the popular anime Digimon. I'm merely writing a fan fictional short story using the characters. I do, however, claim the plot and ask that no one write a sequel or story dealing with this particular piece of work without my consent. Thank you-

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Chapter Four

"What do you mean she _left_!!!" Tai barely refrain from yelling.

"Just that." Sora replied, keeping her own temper under strict control.

"You just let her walk away?" He half asked, half stated, clenching his hands into fists.

"What did you want me to do, physically restrain her!" She said, finding it harder and harder to stay calm and reasonable.

"I would have." He said sullenly, "Someone like Mimi has no chance out there alone." Sora softened when she realized that his intentions weren't entirely selfish.

"Don't worry Tai," She said, wrapping her fingers around his upper arm reassuringly. "She's with Matt." Tai's eyes widened.

"With Matt…" He muttered, anger evident in his voice. He glared at the tree infront of him as if it were the reason for him being upset; suddenly, his whole body jerked forward and he hit the tree as hard a he could with his tightly closed fist. Sora watched sadly, _This is why I can't tell him. _Sighing, she held back long built up tears through sheer force of will.

"We have to find them!" He said, turning so that he was glaring at Sora. "We have to bring them back." _My Matt is all alone with Mimi! _He clenched his fists even tighter. _How could she! _He thought bitterly, his gaze sliding over to lock with Sora's. _She knew how I felt about _him_! I thought she was my friend. _Tai turned away, filling the prick of tears behind his eyes. Sora turned to walk back to the camp, stopping to look at her shoes. 

"Do what you want Tai." She said, emotion causing the words to sound choked, then she resumed her walking.

Tai, thinking nothing of what Sora had just said, stood facing the lake, letting the flames of fury burn him alive. Angry tears of helplessness fell from his eyes as he silently cursed Mimi and Sora to the deepest, darkest corners of hell and back.

A pair of light, forest green eyes watched Tai and Sora as the parted with something akin to sorrow. _:Love is dying and Courage is loosing it's innocents, these Children will be mine.:_

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*****

"Matt, where are we going?" Mimi asked, trailing a few paces behind and slowing down.

"I don't know." Matt replied, walking at a steady pace with his hands stuffed casually in his pockets, remembering why he'd always thought Mimi was annoying.

"I'm tired, and hungry, and my feet hurt!" She whined. "Can we _please_ take a rest now?" Matt rolled his eyes and turned to look at her where she'd stopped dead.

"We just stopped thirty minutes ago!" Her eyes became large, tears filled brown orbs and her bottom lip trembled in the classic puppy dog look. Matt caved. "All right then, but only for a few minutes." 

"Yeah!" Mimi cheered weakly, smiling as she sank gratefully to her knees beneath a tree. Matt stood looking around for a minutes, then shrugged and sat down beside her, still happy she'd volunteered to come along, even if she wasn't the perfect companion to have along on a hike.

Ten minutes in silence and they were walking again, they climbed a hill to get a better direction of which way they were headed, then started down and followed a river until they came to a valley at sunset; with breaks in between of course.

"Wow! How pretty, it looks like something from a dream." Mimi squealed in delight.

"This place never ceases to amaze me." Matt said, looking around. The river ended in a long water fall that fell steaming into a large lake, a mountain of jagged rocks rising up from the middle, all the water turned a deep lavender from the remaining light. The valley was framed by rocky, gray mountains that imprisoned the lush green meadows blanketed by a rainbow of wild flowers and the trees that broke the valley floor in small clusters scattered about. 

"Last one to reach the lake's a rotten digi-egg!" Mimi yelled cheerfully, laughing as she ran carefully down the rocky side towards the lake. Matt smiled at her enthusiasm and ran after her, Gabumon and Palmon close behind.

Mimi made it to the lake first, followed immediately by Matt. "It's even more beautiful from here." She said, letting her gaze wander over the purple water.

"And it feels like the perfect time for a swim too." Matt said longingly, speaking his thoughts aloud. Mimi smiled over her shoulder at him and knelt impulsively at the lakes edge to undo her shoes.

"Mimi! What are you doing?" Matt asked with a laugh, walking up next to her.

"Taking of my shoes of course, I can't swim with them _on_." She answered, tugging off one shoe.

"Are you serious?"

"No, I'm striping because I want to run around half naked just for fun." She snapped sarcastically, tugging off the other shoe and starting on the belt around her waist. Matt felt his face grow hot and he looked the other way. "Now are you going to swim or do I get to do this on my own?" Matt hesitantly gripped his shirt and pulled it over his head, then knelt down to remove his own shoes.

In a few minutes Matt and Mimi were in the water in nothing but their underwear. "This water is warm." Mimi observed, splashing around experimentally. 

"Must be a hot spring a somewhere nearby." Matt said, dunking his head beneath the water and smoothing his hair back with a sigh of contentment. "It feel good."

"Talk about it, I'm _so_ happy I finally get to wash all this dirt out of my hair, I can't believe I let it get like this, it's all greasy and yucky!" Mimi said, her hair down out of it's usual ponytail and her fingers gently scrubbing her scalp as she leaned her head back to wash it.

Matt laughed. "Same old Mimi." She lifted an eyebrow elegantly, raising her head from the water and slicking her hair straight with one last stroke of her long fingers through it's chestnut waves.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, swimming towards him in one sure move.

"Nothing." Matt replied, an innocent smile on his face.

"Really…?" She returned skeptically, and with a flick of her delicate wrist, sent a splash of water full in his face.

"Hey!" Matt exclaimed laughing and splashing her back. They mock glared at each other for a few silent seconds before they both succumbed to helpless giggles.

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*****

The sun had set and a full moon graced the sky and shown silvery light down on the rock which Matt and Mimi were laying on. 

"Hey look! Up there, that group of stars look like two people kissing!" Mimi giggled, pointing up at a group of stars. Matt looked around the sky in confusion for a minute before seeing the cluster she was talking about. An impish smile stretched his mouth.

"I don't know, it looks more like two guys duking in out to me." Mimi threw him a weird look before turning onto her side to look him in the eyes. 

"You must be kidding, do you even have _one_ romantic bone in your body?"

"I could be romantic if I wanted to." Matt replied, also turning over onto his side. Their eyes locked, their faces inches apart and Matt slowly closed the distance until they were nose to nose. 

"Prove it." She whispered, her hot breath causing the lower half of his face to tingle. Matt tilted his head to the side and moved his lips next to her ear.

"I don't want to." He whispered, then pushed her off the rock. She screeched in surprise and clawed desperately at his arms until she had a good grip just as she hit the water, dragging him down with her. They were interrupted by Gabumon informing them that dinner was done.

"All right Gabumon, be there in a sec." Matt answered, turning his head so that he was looking over at the fire by the shore. Mimi splashed him one more time before they both swam back towards the campsite that Palmon and Gabumon had setup while they were playing in the water.

After dinner Matt decided that he would take first watch, telling Gabumon to go ahead and get some sleep since the day had been long. As he thought about how much he'd walked around since they'd come to the digiworld, he thought it might do the four of them some good to stay in one place for awhile. Mimi was fast asleep, Palmon curled comfortably beside her in the soft grass, her back against a rock softened by the weather. Gabumon was resting peacefully beneath the tree beside him as he pondered what he was feeling.

__

You're the only one awake now, He told himself silently. _now you can finally figure all this out. _He glanced over at Mimi and felt his stomach twist, he stared at her angelic face with a feeling that bordered on obsessive, feeling at the moment that he could look at her for a lifetime and need no more nourishment than the privilege. He smiled at the direction his thoughts were taking. _I think I'm attracted to her. _He thought, amused and disturbed at the same time. _She is pretty and sweet and annoying and fun to be around, practically perfect, why _shouldn't _I be attracted._ Matt let out a sigh from deep inside and looked out towards the black abyss that had been a lake earlier that day and pondered what he was feeling.


	5. Voices in Your Head

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Disclaimer: I state to claim to the popular anime Digimon. I'm merely writing a fan fictional short story using the characters. I do, however, claim the plot and ask that no one write a sequel or story dealing with this particular piece of work without my consent. Thank you-

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Chapter Five

Tai sat alone by the fire, they had been walking all day with no breaks and everyone had dropped off into an exhausted sleep as soon as camp was set up. Everyone that is, except Sora and him. Sora sat up in a tree a little ways from the fire, hidden in the shadows. If Tai had taken the time to look, he couldn't have seen her, which was just fine with her. 

Sora sat on a low hanging branch over a wide, shallow river that was barely ankle deep in the middle. She sat with her head resting on her upraised knee; she had cried herself beyond tears and now barely managed to choke out dry sobs. She was so caught up in her depression that she didn't even notice when Tai got up from his seat by the fire and walked mechanically into the forest as if in a trance.

__

He hates me she thought, remembering the way he hadn't so much as looked at her all day except for the once that she had forced eye contact; he'd given her his most hostile glare. It wasn't that she was afraid of him, but the hatred that she saw burning in his beautiful chocolate eyes made her's burn with tears and her heart ache. She had to admit that it hurt her to think that Tai hated her, it was like someone ripping her heart out and stomping on it. She lifted her head and forced a self mocking smile. _What does it say about you when the guy you love loves another guy?_

:Do you really love him?: A strange voice whispered, it was a hypnotic voice and Sora couldn't resist the urge to shut her eyes. She nodded when the question came again and she abruptly felt a presence infront of her; she tried to open her eyes but her eyelids felt to heavy to lift. _:He doesn't love you.: _the voice said softly. _:He hates you.: _The words were harsh but the tone was gentle and persuasive, full of understanding and compassion. _:He loves you're friend Matt.: _Tears she didn't know she had left, streamed down Sora's cheeks at hearing someone besides herself acknowledge the fact. She nodded agreement_. :Nobody loves you, why should they? You're nothing special. You have no special qualities. Even the boy you love chose another boy over you.: _The voice laughed softly._ :You're even thinking of taking your life to end the pain.: _it whispered amused.

Sora frowned, _:What's so funny about that?: _she asked mentally since she found she couldn't open her mouth, her anger smoldering like flames under a downpour.

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:Nothing really, but it is rather ironic that Tai is the one causing you all this agony and you insist on torturing yourself, you should make him pay for all the pain he's inflicted on you!: 

Sora's brow furrowed _:Never! Tai's my friend if nothing more, I could never do anything to hurt him! No! I won't, it's not his fault that he loves Matt! I wont hurt him just to make myself feel better!: _

The voice laughed softly again, only this time it was laced with a sinister undertone. _:Whatever, you had your chance!: _Sora gasped aloud, the voice that had sounded so kind and understanding now sounded cold and evil. She forced her eyes open and frantically looked around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. 

"I'm starting to hear voices," She whispered to herself. "that's it, I've officially gone insane." She laughed uneasily and moved to jump down from the tree when a slimy, long fingered hand grabbed her wrist. She opened her mouth to scream but another hand was quickly thrust into her mouth where it slithered down her throat like thick, poisonous smoke. A shadow with pale green eyes pulled her off the branch and the once shallow river turned into a bottomless ocean of black nothingness. Sora's eyes widened and she tried to scream again as soon as the thing removed it's hand, but nothing came out but bubbles. 

__

:Scream all you want, child of Love, nobody can hear you and it makes my job much more amusing to know you're suffering!: The voice said again, sounding like a whisper in her ear yet so far away.

Suddenly feeling light headed, her whole body going numb as unconsciousness beckoned her. She slowly closed her eyes and the last thing she heard was the insane, musical laughter of a soft woman's voice. 

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*****

Matt woke slowly to Mimi's quiet cursing; slowly opening his eyes, he saw she was bending over a fire. The smell of something burning drifted to him on the warm, gentle breeze and he cringed. He stood from his sit up position against the tree and walked over by Mimi; looking over her shoulder he saw that what she'd been trying to cook might still be salvageable.

"Let me help with that." He said, moving so that he was kneeling beside her. She started and then blushed, embarrassed at her poor attempt.

"I wanted to make you breakfast." She said sadly, "You know, be useful, but I guess cooking isn't one of my strong points; I'm sorry Matt." Tears filled her eyes; she turned her head away and started to stand, but he caught her arm and pulled her back down to sit by him.

"I can teach you, it's really not that hard, then you'll be able to cook whenever okay?" He asked, tilting his head to the side and smiling. Mimi nodded and wiped her eyes to dry them. Matt managed to save their breakfast, all the while giving Mimi cooking instructions_._

"So who taught you to cook?" Mimi asked as they settled more comfortably, their food on large leaves across their laps. Matt didn't look up or show any sign that he felt different that a few seconds ago, but his voice held an edge of bitterness.

"My mother." He said, staring at the various fruits and such on his leaf.

"Oh," Mimi sighed, "not a good subject huh?" He shook his head solemnly. "So uh…how long are we going to stay here?" She asked, trying to think of something safe enough to talk about.

"Today, maybe Tomorrow if we're not fully rested." He replied easily. "While we have the luxury I'd like to stay, it seems there's no trouble here, but if we stay long enough…" He let himself trail off and Mimi picked it up.

"If we stay long enough then trouble will come, it always does." She shrugged then finished off her remaining breakfast with on sweep of the cleaned sticks that served as their eating utensils and smiled. "I'm up for another swim, how about you?" Matt nodded enthusiastically, shoveling the last of his breakfast into his mouth and helped Mimi to her feet before both of them ran towards the lake, shedding their outer clothes as they did.

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*****

Matt shook his spiky blonde hair dry; he was always making such a big deal about his hair, but if anyone really did touch it, it would probably go right back into place. It was naturally like that, he didn't use gel or anything contrary to what some thought. He watched as Mimi gently wrung out her long, brown hair, the back of her pink dress a shade darker where her hair had made it damp. He watched her for awhile, noticing how the sun was shining down through the trees to land on her thin frame and how all the wildflowers that conjugated around the rock she was sitting on made her look like some kind of forest fairy.

__

:You're falling in love with her.: A strange voice said softly, almost as if whispering in his ear. The voice was hypnotic and he had the irresistible urge to close his eyes but fought against it viciously, holding onto his vision with teeth and nails. Finally, whatever power had descended on him gave up and allowed him to remain visually aware, but it took his mind elsewhere. _:You know you are, why fight it?: _It continued seductively, taunting him, daring him to deny his feeling like it was so certain he would. 

Well, he wouldn't oblige something that he couldn't even see, so he sent the creature, whatever it was, a mental- _:So what if I am!:_

:Why don't you tell her?: It said sincerely after a moment of silence in which Matt felt pleasant surprise trickle across from the being to him. He could almost see a pair of piercing ice blue eyes looking at him over from a slightly darker place infront of him.

__

:I don't know how she feels, I… wouldn't want to ruin our friendship. Besides, even if she did feel the same, we're to young to do anything about it!: He thought back at the shadow, glaring. It laughed softly, amusement and wonder weaving themselves into the woman's musical voice.

__

:We'll just see about that.: It chuckled. _:But what would you do if I told you I had seen her thoughts and she hated you?: _it asked, Matt didn't even have to think about that one. 

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:I'd either say she was insane for following me here if she hated me or that you're a liar.: he shrugged physically, dismissing the subject. This time he sensed irritation.

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:If she hated you, what would you do_?: _the thing, which Matt was starting to think of as female, snapped.

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:If you're asking if I'd turn suicidal or something…No. I'd be sad and I'd probably try to get her to atleast see me as a friend, but I wouldn't kill myself! Self destruction, if she hated me, would please her to much and I couldn't have that.: 

The thing seemed satisfied with that answer and Matt found himself awake and aware again. He quickly looked over at Mimi and noticed that she was pulling hard on a large section of hair and her eyes were clenched tightly shut. Matt ran towards her, but just before he got where he could touch her, her eyes snapped open and she turned to him quickly, tears leaking slowly from her eyes.

"M-Matt?" He knelt down beside her and pulled her protectively against his chest since she was shaking to hard to stand. "Th-they showed me m-m-my de-dest-iny." And she broke down into hysterical crying.


	6. Castle on the Water

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Disclaimer: I state to claim to the popular anime Digimon. I'm merely writing a fan fictional short story using the characters. I do, however, claim the plot and ask that no one write a sequel or story dealing with this particular piece of work without my consent. Thank you-

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Chapter Six

Jyou fought off exhaustion as Tai forced them on mercilessly. His sister Hikari stumbled and fell and Takeru immediately knelt down beside her to help her up, a bruise purpling his left cheek where Tai had hit him earlier when he'd suggested they take a rest. He watched helplessly as Hikari cried, silent tears coursing down her face. Her brother stopped and turned around, giving her a glare that made Jyou flinch. _If looks could cut she'd look like she went through a paper shredder._

She whimpered and choked back a sob as Tai moved so that he was standing over her, his lips curled up in an audible snarl as his hand buried itself in her hair. He pulled her bodily to her feet in one strong jerk that caused her to scream in pain; he held her there for a moment, then backhanded her. She bit her lip, causing blood to pool in her mouth in an effort to hold back the scream that bubbled up in her throat. Tai released his grip and looked into Jyou and Koushiro's eyes as she crumpled bonelessly at his feet, thick stripes of her dark, sandy blonde hair twisting around his fingers.

"Would anyone else like to slow us down?" He asked, his mouth turned down in a sinister frown as he absently shook the strands from his fingers, though insane laughter danced wildly in his eyes. He snorted in disgust when they shook their heads and turned to resume his place at the head of the group, humming tunelessly as he started walking again.

Koushiro moved closer and gestured for Jyou to stay quiet as Takeru came up to them, supporting Hikari with one arm around her waist and the other on her shoulder while she cried and clutched her head.

"Something's happened to Tai." He whispered as they started walking again. Jyou gave his friend a look that said, _"Oh really?"_ but kept his sarcasm behind his teeth.

"I think the Digiworld has finally fried his brain, I knew it would happen sooner or later but I always thought it would be me." He said instead. Koushiro shook his head disagreeably.

"No, even if it had, he wouldn't have hurt Hikari or Takeru like that." Jyou, agreeing with the resident genius, looked down at his shoes in confusion, wondering what would have had that affect on their leader.

"How can you be sure?" Jyou asked, letting his tone turn skeptical to prob Koushiro into saying more as he pushed his glasses back up onto his nose where they had slid down. "I mean, he has proven that he can be violent." He look to his friend, but it was Hikari who answered.

"My brother would never do what this monster's done!" She said forcefully, not in the least uncertain even with the large, purplish red mark claiming one side of her face.

"We have to find someway to trap him." Koushiro explained patiently. "Some kind of plan to see if he's the real Tai or not."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Takeru asked, shifting his backpack on his shoulders, the digiegg that had once been Byomon peeking out of the top.

"I don't know, but it'll have to be one darn good plan."

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*****

Mimi blinked at Matt as if he'd got insane. "What are you talking about, what's this about my destiny?" Matt sighed in agitated defeat. Almost immediately after her confession to a prophesy of some sort, her eyes had gone blank and she'd denied seeing anything.

"Never mind Mimi, forget I said anything." Mimi's eyes followed him with curious concern as he stood and paced back to the tree he'd been leaning against.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." He answered, plopping back down against the sturdy trunk. Mimi tried to stand and found that her lower legs felt like hard knots that refused to be stretched. She stumbled a few steps before collapsing desperately against a thin tree beside Matt and sliding gratefully to the ground. 

"Something wrong?" He asked, true worry in voice as he looked her over. Mimi forced a self mocking laugh even as her legs began to ache painfully.

"I think I was sitting like that a little to long." She said, ignoring the pain in her legs and stretching them out infront of her while she leaned back into the hard bark of the tree with a grimace of pain, the quiet stillness stretched to minutes as they both relaxed. 

"I've decided we should go exploring." Matt announced quietly, interrupting the peaceful silence that had hung between them where they sat propped against their trees like drunken fools. Mimi cast him a curious glance.

"If we're not going to be here long, why should we go exploring?"

"Because I've decided that I like it here and I'd like to look around." He explained, "I'd also like to see what kind of Digimon live here and if there's anyway we can defend ourselves against any who might be dangerous."

"It sounds as if you've thought long and hard about this." Mimi said, pulling her legs up to her chest from their spread out position, the aching pain gradually beginning to dull.

"Actually," He replied, grinning confidently. "I'm making it up as I go along." That wasn't exactly the truth; he'd been thinking about it since the voice had invaded his mind, but he didn't see any reason why Mimi should know that.

"When do you think we should start?" She asked, wrapping her thin arms around her upraised knees.

"As soon as you think you can stand." Matt answered, letting his head fall back against the tree while his hands, elbows resting on his knees, dangled between his own upraised legs.

"I think I might be able to stand now." She admitted hesitantly. Freeing her hands and placing them flat against the ground beside her, she moved her legs under her until she could rise unsteadily to her feet. She stood where she was until the tingling in her legs had stopped then nodded at Matt who'd been watching her closely. He pushed himself up and made one long stride that brought him to her side.

"Can you walk okay?" Mimi moved a step at a time until she'd walked to the campfire and back, the stiffness slowly working out.

"Yeah, I can walk fine." Matt regarded her for a moment, his eyes brooding and serious.

"All right then," He said at last, sounding as if he'd just come to a difficult decision. "I think we should start by circling the lake, gradually making our round wider day by day 'til we reach the base of the mountains. That way we'll have covered every inch of this place." Mimi sighed in reluctant surrender, not at all sure if she was willing to devote that much time to the place when she knew they'd be leaving most likely sooner that later. But whatever her feelings, she followed Matt without complaint as the four of them began walking.

They went the opposite way of the waterfall since they wouldn't be able to cross there unless they swam across, and, as the day wore on, met with no incidents until Gabumon stumbled onto a stone path covered with overgrown plants. Clearing the growth away, they saw that the stones were made out of gold. They followed the path with their eyes to where it disappeared beneath the water. Looking straight out they saw the island in the center that they had mistaken for jagged rocks was actually a gray stoned castle. The golden path appeared again on the island in a line from where they stood.

"Should we follow it?" Mimi asked, afraid there could be something lurking in that place just waiting for them. Matt studied it for a minute before mumbling under his breath and scanning the ground with his eyes for something. "What?" She asked, trying to hear what he was saying.

"I said it's to easy, there has to be a trick… Aha!" Matt exclaimed, bending to pick up a stick as tall as him and almost as thick as his arm. "That's better!" He flashed Mimi a confident smile. "Okay, now, lets go see what's in that castle!"

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*****

Blinking slowly, Sora lay in the darkness trying to decide if being able to feel the cold, hard ground meant she was alive or not. Finally, after what felt like hours she pushed herself to a sitting position and attempted to study her surrounding. But as she held her hand infront of her eyes, feeling nothing but the movement of air as she wiggled her fingers, she realized she couldn't see anything but an all consuming blackness. With a start, she also realized that the comforting feel of jean material tight against her skin was missing and, panicking, her hands went to her hips. Expecting to come in contact with nothing but warm flesh, she was surprised to feel the soft brush of something she assumed to be silk that, as her hands trailed down each leg, stopped just above the ankle. Bringing her hands up to her chest, she found the same type of cloth to confirm that even though she felt naked, she was really just clothed in a material so light and soft that she couldn't feel it. She wasn't sure if that comforted her or not, but she told herself that it was better to not feel it than to not have it.

Stumbling blindly to her feet, Sora began to cautiously explore her environment, awkwardly walking with her hands out infront of her and shuffling her feet so that she wouldn't trip over anything on the floor. After more than a dozen hesitant steps and not touching anything, she cried out with relief when her hands finally connected a cold stone wall that seemed to feel funny. Without moving, she spread her hands out in different directions and immediately found out why. She was standing in a corner. 

She again resumed her trek, a little less carefully, and understand that the reason it had taken so long was that she must have started from one corner to the other. If she had turned around at the start she probably would have ran into the wall right off since the room was much smaller than she'd originally thought which gave her an odd sense of security. On one of the walls there was an old wooden door that she had repeatedly tried to break down with her shoulder and at the moment was rubbing the arm where it felt as though it might have been dislocated. With a groan that was half growl, she fell to her knees and let her head fall to the side where she fell into a hopeless sleep almost instantly.


	7. Encounter with an Envoy

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Chapter Seven

Mimi took care where she placed each foot on the slim coated rocks which, after entering the water, were no longer gold but a slippery green that blended well with the water. Her left hand was extended infront of her and clasped tightly in Matt's where he lead single file and could make sure that she didn't miss a turn and fall into the water on spikes cleverly hidden beneath the lake surface and surrounded by a seaweed-like plant that would entangle you if you were lucky (or unlucky) enough to miss being impaled. The path, which had seemed straight when seen from the lake shore, had many twists and semicircle turns that from her point of view appeared to be an absolute waste of time and if it hadn't been for the walking stick in Matt's other hand which he used as a probe to find where the stones were, they would have found themselves drowned or speared many a time over.

Mimi had tried to hold her dress up to keep it from getting wet when she'd first stepped into the water, but had abandoned the effort and was now soaked almost to the waist from when one of the stones had rolled out from beneath her foot and she'd fell, bringing Matt down with her and almost causing them both to go over. Her cheeks still burned with the shame of her clumsiness and she felt sorry for Matt as he was obviously trying to keep his legs as far away from each other as possible when he walked to avoid as much contact between skin and wet jeans as possible.

She cautiously spared a glance from the path when the water began to fall from her knees to her ankles to find that they were just steps away from the rocky island. 

"We're almost there." Matt informed her needlessly. Incase there were anymore obstacles just waiting for her to misstep she looked back down at her feet and continued to place them carefully on solid stone. Another few strides and they were standing fully on dry ground. Matt looked back and whistled in admiration.

"What?" Mimi asked, wondering what about the detestable path was worth _any_ sort of admiration.

"If I hadn't have gotten that stick, we'd be dead right now." He answered, still looking at the lake shore, the path once again looking like a straight golden arrow without any hint of it's deadly intent and the evil it seemed to represent.

"And you find that admirable?" She inquired, lifting an eyebrow. Matt turned to her.

"Can't you see…? It's a defense, anyone who tries to follow that path without something to probe infront of them will probably fall into the water on the first turn!" Mimi's eyes widened as she finally began to understand why someone had gone through so much trouble to make the path so twisting and began to admire the genius of it herself. "Now if I were the one constructing this, I'd place spikes all around the island so that nothing swimming in the water could get near enough to be a threat." A few quick strides found him several yards away at the water's edge peering down into the murky water. A triumphant smile stretched his mouth and he looked back over at her, eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Lets go see what's inside." Mimi said, hugging her arms tightly about herself as if she were cold in a small attempt to make herself feel safe. Palmon looked up at her as they began to follow Matt and Gabumon up the steps that led to the gates of the Castle.

"Is something wrong Mimi?" She asked, her large green eyes filled with worry and Mimi suddenly felt guilty when she thought of how she hadn't paid much attention to her Digimon friend since she'd left the group. 

"I'm just scared of what might be in there." She admitted reluctantly, looking away from Palmon in humiliation, uncomfortable at admitting to being afraid.

"You don't need to worry Mimi, I'll protect you." Palmon reassured her confidently, turning to look where she was going and smiling as if those words could banish all her fears.

"Yes…but who'll protect you?" Mimi mumbled softly to herself, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to banish the unexpected chill that had settled at the core of her being.

"What?" Palmon frowned and looked back up at her. Mimi forced a smile for her friend's sake.

"Nothing, I know you will Palmon." Then she fell silent and quickened her step to bring herself as close to Matt as she could without them actually touching, him seeming more than happy to point out all the defensive advantages of the castle. 

"See those." He explained, pointing to large, grated holes in the stoned ceiling. "Those are murder holes, in a siege the people who man them pour hot oil or other things down on the people trying to get in." Then he'd turn to something else. "See the slits in the wall there? Those are for crossbows, whoever the oil doesn't disable are shot full of arrows! Probably only half an army trying to force themselves in will make it to the gate. Oh! And look! That's a-"

"Can you please not tell me this at the moment." She interrupted before he could clarify anything else. "Considering the position we're in and all." Matt turned around and for the first time realized that she wasn't at all excited about exploring the place. He noticed also that her knuckles were turning white where they held her upper arms in a death grip.

"Mimi…? Are you okay?" He asked, taking a step towards her; she looked down at the floor before answering.

"I'm fine… it's just that I don't really want to think about how in any another situation someone could be doing those things to _us_." She replied weakly.

"Oh…" They continued down the hall in silence, Mimi forcing herself to ignore the slits in the walls and the grated holes in the ceiling that followed them all the way until they saw a black gate, its large spikes facing each other threateningly, giving no allusions as to its intentional function. Mimi stopped and grabbed Matt's hand, a sudden overwhelming terror gripping her stomach and twisting it unmercifully.

"Matt, we can't go in there!" He'd turned to look at her, his brow creased in confusion, when a soft, childish giggle echoed to them and Mimi sucked her breath in sharply, managing not to scream only because she was to paralyzed with panic to even breathe beyond that first gasp she seemed unable to release.

"Who's there!?" Matt demanded, prying his hand loose from Mimi's desperate grasp and raising the stick he still held, fingers clasped tightly around the larger end to brandish it as though it were a worthy weapon.

The sound of many feet hitting the stone floor caused Mimi and Matt to turn in concert, to find a group of strange, lean people in various colors of clothing that were all in the same style standing at attention in the hall they had just passed. Wondering where they'd come from, Mimi glanced up to see the grates on the murder holes removed to reveal nothing but gaping black eyes.

The giggling sound came again and they turned to see two female children and one that looked about sixteen standing at the entrance to the gate. Obviously related, the smallest one had light violet, almost lavender hair that was braided over one shoulder with large, dark blue eyes that seemed unnaturally large on the innocent face, her lips stretched in a friendly yet amused smile. She giggled again. The other girl, taller and seeming the older sister, had light gray, almost silver eyes and straight purple hair that was up in a ponytail at the top of her head, causing a half fountain effect. Her small, white hands rested on the smaller child's shoulder's in a protective gesture. The oldest girl looked something like the others but there was a difference in the face and eyes that was noticeably different from the children. She had wavy hair, black as sin that she let fall freely down her back, ice blue eyes that sparkled like gems fringed with long, dark lashes, her face was small and triangular, but soft enough to almost appear rounded, and her lips were a soft shade of natural coral.

"Be welcomed to the Castle of Dreams Children of Sincerity and Friendship, we have long anticipated your arrival." She bowed with great formality, her long, sapphire robe rippling like water with her movements. "Accompanying me are Princess Tarisha," She said, gesturing to the small, lavender haired girl, "and Princess Raena, daughters of King Jon and Queen Daenerys." She paused long enough to let the names sink in then, placing a delicate, long fingered hand just above her breasts, went on to introduce herself, her voice low and sensual, echoing perfectly in the stone hallway. "I am Lyanna, daughter of the Lord Vylarion of the Ice Castle to the north and the Princess Kathrael, third daughter of King Jathrel of the Lands Beyond the Mist. I've been appointed as envoy and have assembled an honor escort, I'm sorry if they startled you, If you'll please follow me, I'll lead the way to the Audience Chamber where the Queen awaits your coming."

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*****

Sora stirred restlessly, lifting her head off her shoulder and flinching from a sharp pain in her neck where it had sat for an unknown amount of time at an awkward angle. She stiffened quickly as the pat of footfall sounded faintly from under the door which was suddenly awash with light that pierced the darkness painfully as she heard the soft creak of a door. The footsteps grew louder. 

She brought her knees up to her chest and suppress a whimper. Feeling like a cornered animal and knowing in the back of her mind that she should be thinking of ways to escape, but she was so drowned in hopelessness that even her usually rational side was smothered under the weight. A figure moved and blocked half of the light coming in from under the heavy wooden door, paused a moment, then slowly twisted the one sided knob and swung the door open.

At first the wash of light was so blinding to Sora who had grown accustomed to the darkness that she could only squint her eyes. But as they slowly adjusted to the brightness, she saw that the figure was female, a few seconds later and she made out the details of a short pink dress that revealed so much skin that she found herself blushing. She blinked a couple of times and the face came into view. The first thing she saw was the large, strangely familiar green eyes that held her captured in their emerald depth as a terror so overwhelming she couldn't begin to control raced through her. She realized where she'd seen those eyes before and a scream savagely tore it's way from her throat, making her ears ring as she curled in on her self and closed her eyes to block out the visions, but the sinister eyes and smile danced wildly inside her minds eye, laughing at her fear as she slipped quickly into unconsciousness. 


	8. The Long Walk

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Chapter Eight

Tai groaned out loud and rolled over in his sleep to curl up against the cold stone wall. His eyes flew open with a start as he realized he was no longer in the forest laying with Agumon beside a dying fire. He noticed a square of light interrupted by a shadow and rose unsteadily to his knees to see the person better. It was a girl wearing a short, revealing pink dress, belted at the waist by a black leather strap and gold buckle, exposing more skin than Tai was comfortable with and he quickly moved his gaze to her face. She had large, emerald green eyes and short, fiery red hair that shone like embers in the light behind her, leaving her face in shadow.

"Hello, Taichi Kamiya." She drawled in a deep, sensuous voice, draping one arm lazily over her leg where she leaned against the frame of the small room.

"W-Who are you…? W-Where am I…?" Taichi asked, wondering in the back of his mind why those cliched words were the first to come to mind. 

"I am Chloethia, and you are in ab Ceastle jic Faenti, the Castle of Dreams." She pushed herself from the doorway and bowed formally, her skimpy dress revealing a canyon of cleavage as she held out a hand to help him from the floor.

*****

The walk down the hall with its many defensive aspects was done in a silence so heavy that Matt felt afraid to breathe to loudly lest he interrupt it. His hand was beginning to ache where Mimi had it in a death grip and he felt her press herself against his side as they passed through another spiked gate. The tunnel was beginning to feel claustrophobic and he worried at the thought that maybe the supposed envoy and honor guard were sent to get them hopelessly lost before gutting them like fish. He squeezed Mimi's hand in a wordless giving and receiving of reassurance and strength. Just when he thought that he could stand no more of the enclosed space, the corridor opened to reveal a hidden paradise that the outside of the castle gave no hint to. 

Trees, so big around that ten men couldn't encircle the trunk with linked arms, stood in strategic positions through out the building. The branches starting barely twenty feet from the ground and reaching all the way to the top of the castle, standing atleast fifteen stories high. Sun light poured down from the open ceiling, showing that the appearance of a roofed castle had been a ruse. Birds, some with brightly colored feathers that drifted behind them, flew down from the trees to greet them, chirping and squawking playfully as the twirled and danced before them, seeming to welcome them to the heaven on earth. Flowers grew along side the rock path that continued from the hall they'd just exited and some vines with purple and blue flowers curled up the trees and out onto the branches.

The garden had a dreamlike quality that Matt found he was unimmune to and he began relaxing against his better judgement. Mimi's grip loosened but didn't let go and Matt was content to keep her hand comfortably in his. They both gaped like dazed fish, but their escort didn't stop to play tour guide so Matt decided to close his mouth and gawk later, but the silence was starting to make him uneasy again and he was reluctant to lose the relaxed mood.

"How can these trees fit in here, they're so huge, bigger than the castle looked from the outside?" He asked the oldest girl, Lyanna. 

"They are several floors higher than the castle." She answered with out turning or slowing her pace. 

"But if they're taller than the castle, how can they be _inside_ it?"

"Did you not notice that we were descending in a circular motion in the tunnel?" She inquired casually, still not glancing at him.

"Well…no, actually I didn't." He replied honestly, becoming aggravated with her evasive manner. 

"Good, you weren't meant to." She paused, and Matt wondered if she'd make him ask again, but she continued after another breath or two. "The tunnel was built to confuse anyone attempting to enter by force, you noticed the other, more defended halls leading from the main corridor yes? They are to lead the opposing side off to their deaths since they were constructed as traps for just that purpose. All the corridors circle the castle, leaving the entire interior to our vale." Finally she turned and flashed him a brief smile before again concentrating on the path. 

"If the inside is _entirely _for this "vale" where do you live?" He asked, looking around but seeing nothing that looked remotely like a house.

"In nests." She answered in a voice that sounded more amused than it should be by the question. Matt opened his mouth to asked what that was suppose to mean when Mimi's grip tightened and she stopped dead.

"There's a _house_ up there!" She exclaimed in surprise, pointing up with her other hand. Matt followed her gaze and stiffened himself when he spied the underside of wooden floorboards built around the tree trunk and supported by the large branches.

"So there is." Matt replied absently, looking away from the tree house and to their envoy who was smiling and the youngest princess who was giggling uncontrollably, earning a warning look from her sister. Lyanna cough politely into her hand, trying to hide her smile and appear serious though she was obviously amused aswell.

"We really must hurry, the Queen and her consort are waiting." She successfully kept the smile off her face, but it rippled through her voice so clearly that she needn't have tried. 

"Lead the way." Matt said with a bow, equal humor in his voice. Lyanna, losing the mask of representative, laughed and fell back with him as they started walking again. Taking his other arm in hers, she leaned her head in close to his and said, in a voice so full of mock seriousness that Matt smiled.

"I believe, misuer Ishida, that we will get along _very_ well." 


	9. In the Presence of Royalty

__

Chapter Nine

Mimi remained silent as Matt joked and teased with the girl Lyanna, feeling hot resentment rise in her at the closeness with which they talked. The little princess, Tarisha, fell back beside her and took her free hand in her smaller one, giving it a comforting squeeze. She looked down at the light purple haired child who gazed back at her with caring blue eyes slightly darker than Lyanna's. 

"Why are you angry?" She asked bluntly, her childish voice serious. Mimi started, surprised that the girl had known she was jealous.

"How did you…?" Tarisha smiled innocently.

"I felt you in my head, all gold and green and warm." She giggled quietly, but her smile faded quickly. "Anger hurts, hurts my head. I like you, you have nice thoughts, but please don't be angry." Almost as soon as the words were out her bitterness vanished and she was able to smile back at the princess wholeheartedly.

"Okay, I'll try not to be mad anymore." She glanced at Matt who still held her hand as he talked with the envoy and her eyes fell on Lyanna just in time to see her smile and wink at her before turning back to what she was saying to him. Mimi, confused, looked back to the little girl who had caught the look as well. 

"I dunno." She said with a clueless shrug. Mimi laughed.

__

*****

The Audience Chamber was really no more than a building on the ground, covered with flowers and green growth so that it looked like a small hill. Wondering if the other hills they had seen along the path were the same thing, Mimi asked Tarisha, who giggled at her as if it were the funniest she'd ever heard.

"Of course, the kitchen and stables cannot be in the trees like our _houses._" She giggled again.

"Tarisha, you must be silent! You know you're not to speak in the Audience Chamber!" Raena hushed her harshly as they were hurried through a door that had seemed to materialize out of the vines and flowers. Mimi found herself not liking the older princess, but Tarisha smiled lovingly at her.

"Sorry sister, I'll be quiet." Raena nodded and, true to her word, Tarisha said nothing more.

The room they were hurried into was dark, no candles burned or lights were on and Mimi clutched at Matt's hand that promptly returned the pressure. Just when their eyes had begun to adjust, a flare of blue light so brilliant it nearly blinded them burst to life before them, illuminating two figures on a raised dais in its ghostly hue.

"Children of Sincerity and Friendship," a voice, kind and soft, carried to them in thundering volume. "I am Queen Daenerys of the Lands Beyond the Mist, and this, my King consort Jon Karst. With our whole hearts we welcome thee and bid you stay in our humble vale." She stood and inclined her head gracefully, her husband doing the same beside her as the light above them slowly turned lighter until it was a perfect white. 

Mimi looked them over, noting that the queen looked almost identical to her daughter Raena with long purple hair only slightly lighter, and dark gray eyes. She wore a scarlet gown with golden trim and belt, a gold tiara adorned her forehead dangling a tear shaped garnet to hang between her eyes. The king wore a black tunic that hung loosely on a thin, yet muscular frame, belted at the waist with a black and silver belt. He had black hair swept back with a slight wave, dark blue eyes, and a small triangle of hair on his pointed chin.

Matt whispered something to Lyanna, who smiled and nodded before turning to address the king and queen.

"They wish to speak with you, Your Grace, about why they're here, they are confused and would like to know why we welcome them as if they were expected." Queen Daenerys looked both of them over before smiling reassuringly.

"Come then, lets speak of this outside among the vale where I'll need not shout myself hoarse." She stepped down from the dais, the king at her side, the light bobbing over their heads doggedly and swept passed Mimi and Matt, both smiling and nodding. They continued out the door that the guards posted there opened, the light blinking out just before it reached the end of the darkness. Matt, Mimi, Lyanna, Tarisha, Raena, Palmon, and Gabumon followed.

They walked along another path leisurely, no one speaking but the atmosphere didn't seem ready to except speech yet and everyone was content to leave it so. Finally though, the queen broke the comfortable silence with a smile.

"You want to know why you are here and have been welcomed so familiarly do you?" She asked in an amused voice. "I suppose it's only natural for humans to find it difficult to simply except something as is without analyzing it, so I will indulge your curiosity."

"You wondered why you were in this world did you not? Surely my pawn, Gennai that is, told you that you were chosen for having something in common with each other. That is half the truth, you were chosen by us, working behind the scene if you wish. We planted the idea of choosing humans to fight for this world into their heads and heavily influenced their choice of candidates. The Digimon were merely a thought of there's, thinking that you would help them evolve and destroy the evil. That worked well enough, but it was not why you were summoned. We needed you to help us with a problem… actually, not just a problem, but my sister." She paused and took a breath before explaining.

"Kalabrys, being the second child of a family of four, she's always dreamed of ruling. But my father, King Ramynaris, decided that she was unfit to wear the crown and in a rage, she killed my elder brother Sandar, and would have killed me if our mother hadn't contained her power. She managed to escaped and has taken refuge in the mountains to the north for the last ten years. Just lately, she has started skirmishes on the border, calling herself the Queen of the North. She is more powerful than me, the only one who could hope to defeat her would be my daughter, Tarisha, but she is not of age and her powers are yet to fully flower. Kalabrys, somehow, has managed to kill all our experienced mage warriors except my husband and his sister, who can not afford to parish in a battle of magics with her. We've tried collecting mages, but all those who stand a chance of holding their own against her have all died mysterious deaths. If it weren't for the shield's my mother used her life energies to place around my children and family, I fear she would have destroyed us long ago." She sighed sadly.

"But what does this have to do with us?" Mimi asked. "I mean, not that we wouldn't try to help you, I just don't understand what we could possibly do." Queen Daenerys smiled warmly and looked her in the eyes.

"You, child, are a Healer, and you." She said, turning to Matt. "Are a Mage. Your friend, Sora, is an Empath, and the boy, Tai, is a Firestarter. Hikari has Animal Speech, Takeru has Telekinesis, Koushiro is obviously the Genius, and Jyou can see the possible futures. As you can see, you have powers that have been deprived of us for ten years, and something about you being human makes you immune to her powers of destruction. Unfortunately, although she cannot harm you magically, she can take control of you if you aren't protected and we were only able to attain two of your group and place them under shields before Kalabrys took the rest under her sway." She shook her head regretfully.

"Which ones? Who else is here?!" Matt demanded, his eyes excited.

"Calm now, Cloethia was sent to fetch them as soon as it was confirmed that you had reached the palace, they should be here shortly." The Queen stopped walking and waved up at one of the larger tree houses, a three story dome shaped structure that seemed to rely mainly on the trunk for support and started about fifty feet from the ground. "For now, this is the guest quarters, there are five bedrooms, one bathing room, and a sitting room. A kitchen is not needed since all food necessities are taken care of in the large kitchen. There will always be food there, though you'll find hot meals are only served four times a day with six different dishes; once in the morning, twice in the afternoon with three mark intervals, and once in the evening." She inclined her head and the king took up the conversation for the first time. 

"The paths are marked." He said, gesturing vaguely at the stone they all stood on. "The blue flowers directly by the trial there, show that this path leads to your rooms, the one with red flowers is to the kitchen, and orange goes to the hot springs. Purple will take you to the pastures and stables where our four legged allies live. My sister, Lyanna, will search you out tomorrow around late morning so that we may go into more detail on our situation. But now, you must bath and rest, clothes have been laid out for you. If you wish to explore the vale, I warn you, be prepared for there are many things here that are different from what you are used to in your world."

"Believe me," Mimi said, starring up at the house and hoping she would be able to sleep in the tree, wondering what it would be like and if she would like this strange place. "After what we've been through I think we're prepared for anything." 


	10. Reunion of Comrads

Reunion of Comrades

King Jon and Queen Daenerys looked up when a small boy of perhaps six appeared from another path to speak to them.  After a moment where they whispered to each other, the monarchs took their leave, nodding graciously to Mimi and Matt who, with the exception of Lyanna and their Digimon, were left to fend for themselves in their strange surroundings.  Tarisha and Raena trailing after the little boy who went back down the path he'd come from. 

"One problem,"  Matt said when the five of them were alone, glancing up at the tree house.  Mimi followed his gaze.

"What's that?"  She asked, looking up at the three dome shaped buildings for anything amiss and finding naught but the obvious fifty feet from the ground situation.

"How do we get to our rooms?"  Lyanna smiled and walked over to the flowers climbing up to the house and around the branches.

"Why, we take the stairs."  She said, and with two quick steps, appeared to be standing on air.

"What…!"  Matt and Mimi walked over to the base of the trees and saw the steps to the spiraling staircase Lyanna was standing on completely sheathed in flowers.

"That's what those were!"  Mimi exclaimed loudly her thoughts bursting from her mouth before she could stop them.  Lyanna's eyes sparkled with amusement though refrained from saying anything as she led the way around the tree and up through the boards to a walkway similar to a deck surrounding all the floors of the guesthouse.

"Here you go,"  she announced, gesturing around the first floor.  "I'll have to leave you now, but Chloethia will be along shortly with your friends."  With that as a farewell, she disappeared back down the staircase.  They stood at the opening, both gazing over the deck that was furnished in cushions and small, knee high tables.

"Come on!"  Mimi said, pulling him along by the hand as she headed for the door leading into the guesthouse.  "Lets see what's inside!" 

Together, they stepped through the door into a room half obscured by a staircase Mimi assumed led to the second and third floors; the only furniture visible was a circular table with short, wooden legs supporting its broad surface.  As they entered further, two chairs, four cushions, and a large comfortable looking couch gradually came into their line of sight, perfectly illuminated from the sunlight that filtered through the glass that made up the ceiling.  Mimi released his hand and set out to explore the rooms,  weaving between the large pillows sprawled around the room in strategic positions to the two doors on the opposite side of where they'd entered.

"Matt, come look at this!"  She said, peaking into one of the doors.  Following the path she'd taken, he came up behind her to gaze over her shoulder into the room beyond.  There was a bed, large and semicircle shaped with a red comforter and pillows.  The gigantic fur rug that was spread across the floor was dyed a blood red and the thin material that hung by the window was only a slightly lighter color, the whole room was illuminated by the same skylight that was in the common room.

Mimi spun away from the door and ran to the next one, behaving like a child in her eager exploration.  Matt, picking up her enthusiasm followed after her and looked into the room which turned out to be identical to the other with the exception that it was purple.  No pictures hung on the rounded walls, though there was a chest and at the end of the half moon bed and a table with a small, lantern like lamp beside it on the opposite side of the window.

Turning and, as if reading each other's thoughts, crossing the room, they made their way up the stairs side by side, taking them two at a time.  Reaching the second floor, they came to a kind of hallway with led to three doors.  Without looking at each other, they headed for the two doors on the same side, each choosing their own as if by agreement.  Mimi's opened into a room which was a twin to the other two except for it's deep blue color.  Closing the door after seeing that, she moved next to Matt to find out if his was different.  It wasn't, except that it was green.

"They're all different colors."  She said, looking up at Matt, noticing for the first time that he stood almost two inches taller than her.  "I like this one."  Palmon, who along with Gabumon had followed them up the stairs and were also looking at the rooms, nodded her agreement.  Matt looked down at her. 

"What's wrong with the other ones?" 

"Nothing really, I just like this color better."

"I thought you would like the purple.  What color was the other room?"

"Blue."

"I'll take that one then."  

"Shouldn't we wait until the others get here so we can choose fairly?"  Matt smiled and moved to check the other room.

"First come first serve.  Come on, lets see what this is." They turned the knob, creaking the door open enough to peer into the room side by side, surprised to see a spacious bathroom.  The floor was cream and darker cream circled tiles, the walls were a gentle, Navaho White that curved with the dome shaped structure.  A toilet, or something that strongly resembled one, sat in a corner off to the right just under a small open window with cream colored curtains that stirred gently in a breath of breeze.  Beside the toilet was a huge shower with three heads, all positioned to spray water into the center.  A bath tub the size of a child's swimming pool sat beside the shower, a closer look discovered that there was four seats carved into the smooth surface.  A skylight that served as the entire roof for the two buildings so far washed the room in a flood of brightness that was only gentled because the room wasn't really white but a combination of light and dark creams, sconces were spread along the walls for night time use of the room. 

"Cool."  Matt said, looking it over approvingly before shutting the door.  Glancing back to the stair case, they saw that it went to the third and final building and Matt took a step towards it.  "Well, we came this far, might as well see-"

"_Blien! Hello!  Anyone home!"  A woman called in a singsong voice from the porch.  Matt and Mimi looked at each other before racing down the steps to see if it was the mentioned Chloethia with the their two friends._

_*****_

Sora, feeling naked and exposed in the light purple dress that hung on her as if it didn't exist, molding itself to her figure weightlessly; stood outside the house with the strange woman that had brought her to this even stranger place.  She kept her arms crossed modestly over her chest as if the dress were transparent, though it didn't show anything; as she waited for someone to admit them inside.  The woman, Chloethia, had said that this house was theirs so why couldn't they just go in and make themselves comfortable?  It wasn't like whichever two of their friends had managed to end up here along with them would mind since they would be sharing the house anyway.  But she didn't voice her thoughts, content at the moment not to say anything to the fiery haired girl with pointed ears and menacing green eyes.  Tai, however, had no such contentment.

"Why can't we just go in?"  He demanded, crossing his arms and staring sullenly at the door.  "You said this place was as good as ours, so why can't we just go in and make ourselves at home?  Why do we have to wait for whoever's in there to get their lazy-"  He broke off as the door swung inward.

_*****_

"_SORA!"  Mimi squealed and jumped onto her friend, tears pouring from her eyes as she hugged her about the neck so hard Matt thought it was a surprise she wasn't choking her.  Sora seemed to be crying too as she wrapped her arms around Mimi in response.  "I've missed you so __MUCH Sora, you don't even know!"  Pulling away, she noticed the dress her friends was wearing, dark purple with light purple trim and the little heart that had been on her crest stitched across the top; and pointed at it in admiration.  "Where'd you get that dress?  Oh, Sora, it's so __pretty!  I want one!"  That was when the red haired girl that had remained silent through the exchange spoke up._

"There is one exactly like it in the chest in the green room.  Just as there is blue clothes identical to Tai's in the blue room."  Mimi glanced over at Tai to see what his clothes looked like and noted that he didn't look bad in red, but blue was more his color.  His clothes were a red vest that reached just below his knees with gold trim and outlined fire and pants that were loose at the top and tight around the ankles, reminding her of the clothes Aladdin wore in the Disney cartoon.

"I'll be by early on the morrow to wake you to break your night fast.  Be ready when the sun rises."  Chloethia left with that and Mimi was coming to the conclusion that no one actually said goodbye around the strange vale.  Just say something to close a conversation and leave.  Yep, that was the way to do.

"Well, come on in, it's your house too.  You _have to tell me how you guys got here!"_


	11. The Torture Begins

__

The Torture Begins

Mimi blinked, the sun falling through the skylight landed warmly on her face her as her consciousness climbed slowly from the dark place it had receded to while she slept. The singing of birds filtered through the window and she heard a loud, angry groan from the room next to her's. _Guess Matt's motto isn't 'The Early Bird Catches the Worm'._" She thought and giggled.

"Mimi, are you awake?" Sora whispered through the door. Mimi smiled.

"Come on in, Sora." She called loudly, hearing another groan. Sora opened the door and snuck in, leaving it open.

"Mimi!" She said, exasperation her soft voice. "You're going to wake him up!"

"So?" Mimi retorted, her voice louder than before. "He needs to wake up anyway, that Chloethia person is supposed to be by soon and he's not going to be ready!"

"Neither are you if you don't get up now." Sora pointed out. Realizing that her friend was right, Mimi slid from the bed and crouched in her green silk nightgown, opening the chest that held her clothes.

"You have to help me find an outfit." Mimi informed her friend while she untied the string that held the cloth that kept her clothes from getting dust on them closed tightly. Sora rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Mimi, we both know you'd never need me to help _you_ with clothes."

"Well, for your information, today I _do_ need your help." She pulled out three different pants outfits and spread them out on the bed. "Which one will look best?" Sora scrutinized the outfit cursorily before responding.

"There all _green_, just pick one, it won't make much difference." Mimi exhaled in annoyance.

"_Just_ because they're the same color doesn't mean they're the same! Just look at them!" Mimi glanced over at them to see if the fact that same color, different outfit was so hard to see. It wasn't. The first outfit was a dark, forest green button-down vest that was tight around the top and stopped at the waist where a light green sash held the darker green pants up. _Aladdin style! _She thought smiling. The second was all light green, the top was long-sleeved and loose with a low cut neckline and ruffled wrists and the pants were tight, spandex like material. The third was a kind of combination of the first two. The white top was loose and low-cut with ruffled wrists. The loose, Aladdin style pants were dark green, almost black. The vest, a matching color; was identical in design to the first.

After thinking with her finger pressed against her chin, Sora pointed to the second. "That one looks nice." Mimi wrinkled her nose, but smiled to cover up the look of distaste.

"What do you think of that one?" She asked, pointing to the third. Personally thinking that, although they were all ugly, Sora had managed to choose the ugliest of the three.

"Well… it looks a little-"

"Perfect! I'll wear it then!" Mimi interrupted, then hugged her enthusiastically. "Thanks for your help Sora, you're the best!" 

"But I didn't-"

"Is Tai awake?" She asked, looking past Sora and through the doorway as if she could see downstairs. Sora blushed.

"Well I eh…"

"Sora!" Mimi grabbed her friends hand and led her out into the hallway. She dragged her to Matt's door and knocked loudly, initiating another groan and some muffled words that she couldn't make out. Sora gasped.

"Go away!" He shouted angrily, and Mimi heard the distinct sound of something soft hitting the door. She guessed it was a pillow.

"Are you awake?" She called sweetly, ignoring the obvious fact that he was.

"No! I'm still _sound_ asleep! Now will you go away?" He demanded. 

"Not until you're awake." She answered, still with the honey in her voice. Grumbling answered her, then the sound of blankets being thrown. Sora tried to whisper something to her but she waved her silent, listening to see what he was doing. 

The door opened wide to reveal Matt, holding a blanket around his waist with one eye open and his hair in a ruin. "I'm awake." 

"So I see. Now go get dressed and come down to that big room with all the furniture. We'll be waiting for you there." Then she spun and headed back for her room, Sora's hand still grasped in hers. After shutting the door behind her, Mimi laughed out loud and Sora smiled tentatively.

"Did you see what he looked like!" She gasped between giggles. Remembering the look of being only half there on his face. "He just looked so… _funny_! I could barely keep from laughing in his face when he came out with that blanket-" She stopped laughing and said seriously. "I wonder what it would be like to wake up next to him, to see him like that every morning? Do you think it would stop being funny if that happened?" Sora shrugged.

"I don't know, that's something you'd have to find the answer to yourself."

"Well, anyways, I did that to show you what you have to do. Now go wake up Tai. I'll be dressed and down with Matt in a second. With how tired he looked, he probably went right back to sleep." She smiled and shoved Sora out the door before she could protest.

__

*****

Chloethia came and collected them for breakfast not long after Matt and Mimi came down. After they'd all eaten, though not to their fill for she had advised against it, she led them to two separate buildings. Tai went into one, Matt, Sora, and Mimi went into the other.

They stepped through the door as Chloethia excused herself and went back to the building where she'd left Tai. Lyanna appeared almost instantly and abducted Matt to take into one of the various rooms where she shut the door behind them. Sora looked to Mimi, but her friend didn't return the look. Instead, she stared forward as another woman, purple haired and gray eyed, leaned languidly against the slight green walls. She gestured for them to come closer.

"Good morning children of Love and Sincerity," she greeted. "I promised yesterday that I would say more and I will, though it will not be of more useless talk." Sora exchanged a glance with Mimi and gulped. 

"Today, we will talk of your gifts and how you'll be using them. When we'd selected you from all the other children of the world, though there are others, Gennai spread the word of their idea and other kingdoms of our world have done the same as us, only for different reasons; We had hoped that after you had defeated Kalabrys-" She paused long enough to look at Sora. "I'm sorry if this is confusing you, the gate we took you through put considerable stress on the body and we wanted you to sleep it off before we talked to you. I assume you were told?" Sora nodded timidly and the woman, Daenerys Sora remembered, continued.

"We'd hoped that after Kalabrys was defeated that many of you would remain behind to rule beside us. Although Raena is older, I hope to name my daughter Tarisha heir and train Raena to be a warrior. She has expressed more of a desire to fight than rule and the child is so solemn, I fear leadership would weigh her down. I'd hoped you would be the eight that guard the monarch. In my father's time, there were personal bodyguards called The Eight, that is why there was eight summoned instead of only the six that was needed. They were the guards of the ruler and his or her family. Now, you wont be forced, if one or all of you decide to leave, others will be chosen, just remember that you were our first choice and think on that.

"Another thing I must tell you, time travels much faster here then in your world if you haven't noticed. It has been our magics that has protected you. I tell you now that to fully access your powers, you must be in an adults body for your body now, though much more adaptable, is not capable of withstanding all the traumas that will be inevitable. I say this now to inform you, and prepare you, for the fact that we are going to remove the spell long enough for your bodies to reach full maturity at one and twenty years of age. The process will take three days. Also, your… Digimon is it? They will have to be converted back to their egg form." Sora and Mimi both opened their mouths to complain, but Daenerys held up a hand to silence them. "Your Digimon friends get their energy to temporarily evolve from your energy. The "digivices," as you've named them, were designed to tap the energy that sustains your sleeping powers. We can't have that now, they agreed last night, when Chloethia spoke to them in private, or did you not notice their absence when you awoke?" Both girls blushed and lowered their eyes. Daenerys smiled and continued with her original speech. 

"Now to get on to the point of why you are here, I will be training you both in your powers, for Empathy and Healing are closely related. We will begin by-"

"Eh, excuse me, Your Grace, but I-" Mimi interrupted.

"Call me Dany, for after this moment forward, I will call you by your given names. What is it that you would ask of me, Mimi?"

"Well, I was wondering since you mentioned the word yesterday, what an Empath was?" 

"I was just about to explain that." Daenerys said patiently. "If you would have a seat," She gestured to three cushions in against the wall beside her, "I tell you everything you wish to know about your powers." They all sat comfortably on the large pillows and the Queen continued with her dialogue.

"An Empath, dear Mimi, is someone who reads and manipulates emotions. A Mindreader, which by the way you all are; is very useful to find out what someone is thinking. But the down side is that, unless you, in a sense, rape their mind, you can only tell what they're thinking at the time. While an Empath can search through all the emotions, place pictures in people's minds and sense how they react. They can even use that as an attack, making a person afraid or angry enough to be foolish or clumsy, or even send enough mental trauma their way to render them unconscious. People who are Empaths are very useful as diplomats, but they are also healers. Not the kind you or I are, Mimi, though we have our own type of Empathy, mostly to sense pain or distress and create a link. The healers Empaths are, is mentally. They can cure any sort of phobia just by entering the minds and erasing the fear."

"And now that I've explained what your powers do, lets get on with how you'll be using them against my sister my sister, Shall we?"

After hours, or "marks" as Daenerys called it; of listening to their teachers lecture them on their various powers, with a mark for lunch of course; the four friends stumbled to their guest house with promises from the teachers that the real work would begin the next day. 

__

*** **Chapters to Come** ***

Theft of Innocence 

Words of the Soul

Spark of Life

Journey into Darkness

Abduction of Beauty

Face off with Flowers

The Clash of Power

A Feast of Evil

Dance of the Fearless

A Time for Friendship

Good-byes Can Last Forever


	12. Theft of Innocence

__

Theft of Innocence

Mimi slipped out of the thin silk dress and sat naked beside the steaming pool of blueish water. It had taken awhile to get used to the soft, weightless fabric, all of which seemed to be in various shades of green, but over the days spent in the strange place, began to think she'd never wear anything else though she knew poor Sora always fretted about feeling as if she were wearing nothing. Gingerly, she slid into the hot spring, forcing herself to relax and enjoy the scalding water as it worked wonders on the tension in her neck and shoulders. Sighing with contentment, she leaned back until she was submerged to the chin, letting her arms float lifelessly at her sides. 

A sudden exhaustion settled over her and she released another sigh that quickly turned to a full-mouthed yawn. She felt herself dosing off when a gasp of surprise startled her into opening her eyes. Matt was standing on the edge of the bubbling spring, mouth open, chest and legs bare. Thin, blue small clothes the only material covering his nudeness.

Instinctively, Mimi raised her arms to conceal her own bare chest, which seemed to be on a mysterious growth spurt in the three days, having swollen considerably since coming to the castle, and brought her knees up aswell.

"I-I'm sorry…er I guess I'll just uh… come back later then." He dropped his hands from the underclothes and bent to retrieve his discarded pants. Mimi, hugging herself tightly, quickly moved to the edge by him, her face burning with embarrassment at what she was about to do.

"You don't…uh… really have to go." She said hastily, turning a dark shade of red. But realizing that she couldn't call the words back, she continued. "It wouldn't bother me if we er… you stayed here with me… I'd… like someone to talk to." Mimi tried not to cringe while resisting the urge to sink down into the water as his eyes roamed what was visible of her with a clouded look, an unknown emotion turning his sapphire depths a deep, bottomless midnight.

"I don't know…" He finally mumbled, defensively holding his pants to his chest. Mimi groped quickly for something to say. 

"I just want to talk, _please _Matt, with all of us training I hardly see anyone but Daenerys and the Sora anymore." She smiled playfully, showing her teeth in a mock snarl when she saw him hesitate, trying to radiate more confidence than she felt. "I promise I wont bite…to hard." Matt rolled his eyes and dropped the pants he'd picked up.

"You're _real _funny." He said sarcastically, stepping out of his small clothes and sinking up to his waist in the water as quickly as possible.

"So… How has training been?" Mimi asked, trying desperately to think of something to say that wouldn't sound so… _Distant_.

"It's okay, Lyanna's a cool person."

"_Really?_" She replied, struggling to keep the resentment out of her voice. "Why don't you tell me about her? You two spend _so_ much time together, but I only know her from what Dany tells me." Matt was silent for a moment or two and Mimi worried that he had picked up the envy in her voice. Finally, he spoke.

"Lyanna. Well, she's a lot like me. She has the same sarcastic humor that Jyou has, and… well, she's just cool. I don't know how to describe her.

"But to tell you the truth, I miss the time when we were just walking, following the river and joking around, you know?" He said wistfully, looking past her at the plant life that was designed to look wild yet disciplined. "Sometimes I lie awake at night, even though I'm so tired I feel like I should have passed out cold as soon as I hit the pillow; and think about that night at the lake, when the water was first pink then purple as the sun went down. I think how it felt like _years_ ago instead of days. It feels like we'll never have that back, you know?" Mimi nodded, her heart rising from its somewhat sunken position.

"I sometimes feel the same way too." She said honestly. But though this heart to heart was lifting her spirits, she wanted to get away from the reflective mood and talk about something more cheery. Matt solved that for her as the bubbling hot water was suddenly in her face, burning her eyes and making her sputter indignantly. 

"What was _that_ for!" She shrieked, rubbing at her eyes and spitting the foul tasting water out of her mouth. Matt laughed.

"For putting me in such a melancholy mood!" He said, and splashed her again. "That was just for making me think about it." Splashing him back in defense with more desperation than aim, Mimi tried to reply through her giggles.

"You put yourself in that mood, not me! You should splash _yourself_!"

"Only idiots do that."

"Are you saying your not?"

"Are you saying I am?"

"Maybe." Matt stopped splashing her and looked at her, seeming to study her, his eyes growing almost black even as she watched.

"You're so beautiful, Mimi." He whispered, almost moaned, while he swam closer. Mimi, suddenly very much aware of where he was, backed against the side of the pool. Her mind blank of anything she could say in response to his words. He swam closer.

"You're _so_ beautiful." He repeated, the naked longing in his voice scaring her. "I wish I could just…" He lifted a hand and ran in slowly through her wet hair, twisting the brown locks around his fingers and then smoothing them back down. A tingling sensation started from where his hand was stroking her hair and shook her to her toes.

"I have no idea what I'm doing." He said absently. His hand moving down the side of her face and caressing her neck. His other hand joined the first, making it look like he was trying to choke her as he lowered his face to rest his forehead against hers. Mimi found herself hoping he wouldn't stop. 

"Matt…" She tried to tell him that it didn't matter if he didn't know, but before she could get the words out he took advantage of the opening and claimed her mouth with his, pushing her hard against the side of the pond with his urgency. Mimi responded with her own. Wrapping her arms around his neck and crushing him harder against her, feeling the length of him against her. No more words were spoken, but when they broke apart, Matt looked down at her in confused desire, her own eyes mirroring the same; and seemed frozen. Not sure what to do next. Mimi answered that by forcing his head back down to meet hers. 

His hands slipped from her neck and found their way to her hips where he lifted her from the pool and sat her on the edge, his neck strained upward to keep their lips locked. He pushed her onto her back as he climbed out, his hands planted on either side, pinning her where she lay; and deepened the kiss. 

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*****

Mimi stirred on the bed, feeling the silk-like blankets against her skin and wondering why she wasn't wearing a nightgown. She _never_ slept nude! She'd always been to worried that someone would walk in and see her. _So why am I-_ her thought was interrupted as the hand on her leg which she hadn't noticed slid upward to cup her hip. She froze, immediately becoming aware of the muscled body pressed against her back. Little bits of the night before stole into her mind, but only in pieces. She didn't remember how she'd gotten from the hot springs to Matt's bedroom (which she knew was his from the blue sheets), but she remembered lying there snuggled against him, talking about nonsense, before falling asleep. Looking up at the skylight, she saw that it was still dark outside and guessed that it was early morning. Probably three or four. 

Hearing the rhythmic steadiness of his breathing, she assumed rightly that he was asleep and slipped gently from the bed. Careful not to disturb him, she crept from his room into her and threw herself onto the bed where she cried she fell asleep again. She woke when Sora came for her and Mimi hurried as quietly as possible to dress and be out the door before Matt woke up. Sora voiced her curiosity at her peculiar behavior, and although Mimi knew that she'd been taking serious training in her Empathy gift, she hoped she could fool her. Doing everything from skipping breakfast and dinner, to sleeping outside of the guest house. Mimi managed to avoid Matt for a week. 

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*** **Chapters to Come** ***

Words of the Soul

Spark of Life

Journey into Darkness

Abduction of Beauty

Face off with Flowers

The Clash of Power

A Feast of Evil

Dance of the Fearless

A Time for Friendship

Good-byes Can Last Forever


	13. Words of the Soul

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Words of the Soul

Mimi stood under the steaming water letting it wash over her silken skin as if it could wash away the memory of his touch. She ran her fingers through long chestnut waves, spreading it with her fingers the slicking it back until it appeared straight. _What will Sora think?_ She wondered, guiltily thinking of her best friend. _And what about Mamma and Daddy!_ She felt the hot prick of tears behind her eyes and let them fall freely, knowing it would only hurt worse if she suppressed them. _What will they think of me? Oh my God! I shouldn't have let him; I should have left. If I'd _never _asked him to stay! _Her thoughts were interrupted by the gentle creak of the door and she stepped back to see who it was, feeling herself stiffen then grow cold. 

Matt stood with the door wide open his eyes unusually large in a face gone suddenly pale and slack jawed. Mimi stood rigid, to shocked to even think of covering herself. After seconds that felt like years, Mimi finally found her voice.

"Get out! Shut the door! Shut the door!" Matt seemed to shake off his own astonishment and turned to shut and lock the door, then looked back at her with his eyes a slightly darker shade, becoming a bottomless void of cerulean. Mimi, finally thinking about her nudeness, attempted to cover her entire body with two hands. 

"No! _Get out _and shut the door!" Matt smiled crookedly and stepped towards her where she stood in the shower of their guesthouse, making it clear that he had no intention of leaving. Scared, Mimi tried to find a comfort zone against the cold marble of the curved wall. "Matt would you _please_ leave?" She asked, her voice wobbling barely above pleading. "_Please!_ You…I…You can't just come in here!" She finished shrilly, seeing the possessive way he looked her over.

"You've been getting distant." He said conversationally as if she wasn't standing naked in the shower for him to observe as he pleased. Mimi didn't answer but moved her arms to try and conceal her chest while crossing her legs. Matt's brow creased in irritation.

"Would you stop that! I'm not going to_ do_ anything, I just came in here to talk to you!"

"Why…why are you _looking _at me like that then?" She demanded, squirming on her feet under his appraising gaze.

"I'd forgotten how beautiful you were..."

"Well, now I know it's love!" She interrupted sarcastically.

"Mimi please, I'm being serious."

"So am I Matt! We can't…can't _do_ this, we're only _children_!"

"Not here we're not! Look at yourself in the mirror Mimi, you're in an _adult's_ body! We all are!"

"But I don't want to be Matt." She choked, tears filling her eyes and spilling over to blend with the water on her face. "I don't want to be" She sank to her knees and leaned back under the water where it fell like rain around her.

Matt, heedless of his blue satin vest, closed the distance between them with two long strides and knelt beside her; hesitantly taking her into his arms. To her distress, she found herself relaxing.

"I'm sorry Mimi." He murmured lovingly into her wet hair, rocking her back and forth against his chest as though she were a child.

"For w-what?"

"For doing this to you. If it bothers you so much I wont talk about it anymore; what ever you want, Mimi, I'll do it." Swallowing a sob that stuck in her throat, Mimi snaked her arms around him and hugged him back, feeling something in herself break and knowing it was lost irretrievably.

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*****

Hikari sat against a tree, hugging herself to fend off a chill that came from within herself. Taichi, was staring into the flames, a self-satisfied smile turning up the corners of his lips. A shiver coursed through her and her fingers dug gouges in the tender flesh of her arm. _What's wrong with him?_ Hikari asked herself, her gaze leaving Taichi and searching for his Digimon. Agumon was lying along by a rock, far from the flames and looking so vulnerable that it brought tears to her eyes.

"Hikari?" The voice was timid and shaky in a way she'd never heard before. She turned to see Gatomon in the shadows beside her tree.

"Gatomon, what's wrong?" She asked, concern lacing her voice as she released her grip on her arms to reach a hand out to touch her friend, but when she realized the distance was to great she let it fall back at her side. "What's wrong?"

Gatomon shifted her gaze from Hikari's face to the ground and absently kicked a small pebble away from her. When she looked back up, there were tears floating in her blue eyes. 

"Oh Hikari!" Gatomon ran forward and threw her furry arms around Hikari's neck. "I'm sorry I haven't been much help. I don't deserve to be your friend!"

"What are you talking about? Of course you deserve to be my friend! Gatomon, _what's wrong_?" Gatomon sniffled and Hikari was surprised to learn that she'd been crying. 

"Your brother, Hikari, I'm sorry I didn't help you, but I was _scared._" 

"He's _not_ my brother!" She exploded, a thought blossoming in her mind. "Why were _you _afraid of him? He couldn't hurt _you_, you're a Digimon!" Anger coiled in her stomach. She hadn't thought of it before Gatomon pointed it out, but all the time that they'd been following Taichi, no one, not since that first day; had even attempted to stand up to him. That scared her. She'd been scared before, but thinking about the submissiveness of the group, the people she had believed would protect her should her brother decide to distribute something more than blows and threats sent shivers through her that threatened to send her into convulsions.

"I don't know Hikari, I just… Something holds me back." She lowered her voice as if afraid that Taichi would here them and Hikari had to strain to hear her. "I don't think… he's human any more."

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*** **Chapters to Come** ***

Spark of Life

Journey into Darkness

Abduction of Beauty

Face off with Flowers

The Clash of Power

A Feast of Evil

Dance of the Fearless

A Time for Friendship

Good-byes Can Last Forever


	14. A Spark of Life

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A Spark of Life

Takeru sat as far from the fire as he could. He'd been afraid of the dark back home, always asking his mom to leave his bedroom door open so the hallway light could keep the night at bay. But he took comfort in the shadows now. In the shadows no one could see him unless he wanted them to and for once, he had nothing to fear from the darkness. It was the light he was wary of.

Taichi was in the light. Taichi whom he had once asked to be his brother instead of Matt and had looked up to and respected. He didn't want to believe that his friend had become a monster. He wanted to take what little comfort he could in the idea that someone had stolen their leaders identity, just as his friends did. But he couldn't help remembering that Matt had gone through some strange times too. Maybe the digiworld was finally going to drive them all crazy and Taichi was just the first victim.

He thought of Sora, wondering what could have happened to her. They'd wondered aloud about it that first day, but Taichi had snapped that she wasn't important. Only Matt and Mimi had mattered, he'd said, and they'd followed him like _sheep_. 

Even the Digimon had been unusually subdued by their human leader. Looking at Agumon was the worst. The once happy, energetic Digimon was alone like none of them were, they all had their Digimon partners, if not all their human ones. But Agumon had _Taichi._

Takeru was desperate to think of someway to get them all safely away from their once loved leader, but he was just some little kid, and none of the ideas held against the risks.

He sighed and slipped further into the darkness.

*****

Mimi tried to keep the panic at bay, the overwhelming terror that took the form of menacing black birds; but dark wings beat the air at the edge of her vision and disoriented her until she felt as if the world was spinning around her. She lifted her arms as if to fend them off, but they closed in, battering her with their wings and pecking at her face. She screamed, closing her arms around her midsection and bending forward to protect herself. 

She sank to her knees on the cold tile, still screaming at the birds. The giant birds with the black wings and beady red eyes that stared into hers with such calculating intelligence that she knew they were looking into her soul, deciding how best to rip it apart. 

One landed on her shoulder and her screams stuck in her throat. She spun around, striking out blindly with her fists as she landed hard on her back, catching the evil bird on some hard part of it's body. She felt a swell of satisfaction in her chest as it squawked and hit the floor. 

Then she heard the voices... 

Familiar and loved voices and she realized that it hadn't been a bird she'd hit. Her vision cleared slowly, the black wings disappearing as the creatures took their leave. But she didn't feel safe for a moment, knowing they were watching her, just waiting until she was alone again to descend on her and finish what they'd started.

When the dizziness and disorientation was gone, she saw that Sora was lying on the hard tile floor beside her, her face dazed and the side of her forehead slowly turning rosy. Matt and Taichi were standing over her, talking loudly and Matt was reaching down to help her up. Comprehension of what she'd done shot through her brain like electricity and she scrambled to her hands and knees and crawled over to where Sora was still lying on the bathroom floor to see if she was all right.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god…." She gently touched a finger to the spot on Sora's forehead where she'd hit her and felt tears spring to her eyes when her friend flinched away in pain. "Oh _god_, Sora I'm so sorry, I don't know w-what came over m-me!" She tried to explain, but Sora smiled kindly.

"I do." Mimi froze, her hand still extended towards her friend as she felt the blood drain from her face. She started shaking so hard she felt as if she'd fall apart and the black wings circled around her vision. Waiting. 

But before she could panic, Sora took her trembling hand in her own.

__

: Mimi?: Sora's mind voice was similar to her real voice, except that it was softer, more melodic and loving, and it calmed Mimi like nothing else could.

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: Mimi, I know.: 

*****

Matt couldn't understand what had come over Mimi. True that he'd started it by giving into desire at the pool when he knew he should have run as far from her as possible. But she'd started getting over it. It had been three months since that one night and he'd taken cares to see that temptation never had another chance, making sure that neither of them were alone together anymore. But in the last few days she'd started running again. Distancing herself from the tightly bound group they'd formed, but mostly from him. 

He was sitting in his room, staring blankly at the bare wall. There was a knock at his door and he jerked back into himself just as it creaked open and Sora peered in. He flinched when her eyes met his. _She knew._ He could tell by the way her brows were lowered and her brown eyes watched him accusingly.

"I suppose you're here to tell me what a bastard I am?" He asked her in dejection, leaning back until he was lying sideways across his bed. Sora moved fully into the room and closed the door firmly behind her.

"That's one of the reasons. How did it happen?" She inquired softly, easing down to sit on the bed beside him. He closed his eyes on a wave of guilt. 

"I was down at the hot pools and saw her. _God _she was beautiful! I apologized for finding her and was leaving, but she asked me to stay and I thought it wouldn't hurt anything if I did. One thing led to another and the next morning… I woke up alone." Bitterness swept through him as he said the last. She'd had no right to do that. To act as if it had all been his fault because he sure hadn't heard her begging him to _stop_! 

"Matt…" The hesitation in Sora's voice stopped his thoughts cold and he opened his eyes to pin her where she sat.

"What is it?" He demanded, sitting up and resisting the urge to shake her. Something about the way she was watching him hinted that what ever she was going to tell him was going to be earth shattering.

"I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do…" She bit her lip, suddenly uncertain in her coming.

"Dammit Sora!" He burst out angrily, clenching his hands into fist at his sides. "What is it?" Sora gulped. If she left now, he would suspect, and it wouldn't take much for him to figure it out. If he found out that way, he'd hate them both, she was sure of it. She sighed reluctantly.

"Mimi… Matt, she's pregnant." 

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*** **Chapters to Come** ***

Journey into Darkness

Abduction of Beauty

Face off with Flowers

The Clash of Power

A Feast of Evil

Dance of the Fearless

A Time for Friendship

Good-byes Can Last Forever


	15. Journey into Darkness

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Journey into Darkness

Taichi gazed apprehensively at the domed building. It was the closest thing to a medical facility they had in this place, where people lived in trees and talked in each other's heads. Mimi was in there. Giving birth to a baby, Matt's baby. Something in Taichi that had been holding on, clutching desperately at any shred of hope, finally let go and died. Matt would never see him as anything but a friend. That part of him that died also allowed him to finally forgive Sora. He realized it really wasn't her fault, if it hadn't been Mimi, it just would have been someone else.

"It's about time."

Taichi turned to see Chloethia, wearing a flimsy skirt that was so much longer than her usual that it almost reached her knees- he was shocked.

"You're not suppose to be in my head." He told her, trying to sound irritated.

"If you'd remember to shield I couldn't be in your head." She said matter-of-factly. Taichi rolled his eyes, she always got on to him like that, was he suppose to shield all the time? How exhausting!

"You' are worried." She said.

"Of course I am, she's my friend… and Matt would never be able to live with himself if Mimi died." He looked at the grass he was standing on as he said that last part, feeling his heart wrench at the thought of Matt being hurt. Chloethia watched him curiously.

"Your emotions are confused?" She asked. She only asked questions when she was trying to get him to see something for himself but Taichi found this question easily.

"No, I love him."

"Love him how?" This one stumped Taichi, how did he describe his feelings for Matt? Sure they fought a lot but no one challenged him like Matt did, no one forced him to be better, rise higher, and improve himself like Matt did. He got a warm, glowing feeling in his chest when he thought of him; he wanted to protect him and shield him from hurt, and so many other emotions when he thought of his blond haired comrade, how did he break down all those feelings into simple words?

"You are not shielding Taichi." She warned him softly, his mouth twisting in frustration, and he grounded himself, centered, then sent a bit of his energy into that dark place in his head whence all his thoughts emerged. Imagining a thick brick wall, the 'shield' rose up around him like a prison- he really hated this feeling it made him panicky and claustrophobic. To be surrounded by such a thick, blankness confining him to this dark space was horrible and he had trouble thinking clearly while struggling to maintain it. He told her such.

She clicked to herself in annoyance, then reached out and gave his mental wall a powerful shove, he wasn't ready for such a response and he felt the cracks breaking along the inside, quickly, he tried to cover the damage but another shove had the bottom crumbling, one more sent the whole thing crashing to the ground and gave him a tremendous headache.

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: Did I say a wall Taichi?: She asked him in his head, announcing that she had again invaded his mind without his permission. _: I said a shield, solid and smooth, flexible. Here, I will show you.: _Without warning, she seized a portion of his energy and began to build her own shield around his mind. Showing him what he needed to do. First, she created a foundation, so the shield would be grounded firmly, something he always forgot to do, the she slowly spun something resembling a spider's web which she showed him moved and bent to her will, then handed it over to him, where it wavered in his inexperienced '_hands_' before coming to hesitant stability.

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: Move it, it is your will that controls the shield.: Unsure, he tentatively told it to bend in and the whole web closed in fast until it was like a tight bubble around him, then her told it to bend out and it went so far it seemed as though he could lose himself in the darkness. _: Just so,:_ she said, amusement lacing her voice,:_ now make it stronger.:_ He did so just by thinking for it to be stronger, as he watched, the spider web became a solid, shiny sphere of which he was the center, then he raveled it down to nothing but thin wisps of silk like thread that couldn't possibly hold anything out. At that time Chloethia removed herself from his mind and he was once more alone. However her words brought him out of his fascination with his new shield.

"I have thought over what you were thinking and I have come to a conclusion." Until that moment, Taichi had forgotten that she had been reading his mind. Remembering what had been going through his head, he should have been embarrassed, but he found he was more interested in what she had to say.

"There is no lust in you Taichi, no desire for this boy you believe you love. You do not wish to lay with him as he lay with the girl. If you do not wish to make love, how then can you love?"

"You mean sex?" He asked quizzically "I'm too young for sex, I'm only eleven!" Chloethia seemed to find something amusing about such a statement and her voice revealed her restrained laughter.

"Your love and the girl were not to young." Taichi started to speak, but he could think of nothing to refute her point. She smiled in approval. "Do you wish to know what I think?" He nodded. "You are merely friends with this boy, friendship is a close kin to love and for a boy who does not know his own self perhaps it is confusing, but you will see that there is differences and when you find that true love that you seek, there will be no doubts if you face it with an open mind." She paused, then sighed and looked toward the building where Mimi was. "Perhaps someone should have spoken to those two, they are so mixed up by their emotions and their guilt that they do not know if they love or lust or if they are even friends. A bond like theirs should not be strained with such thoughts and feelings as those." Then she sighed again and walked away, having said what she'd meant to say.

Taichi looked back at the building and thought about what she'd told him.

Daenerys looked down at the baby resting peacefully in his little bed, smiling softly; Mimi, the poor thing, had fallen into an exhausted sleep as soon as the baby was born. Studying the infant, she lifted the blanket away to see that it was a little boy, hairless and round face, his chubby little fingers curled into a fist beside his head, She felt a pang of maternal affection, and longed to hold him in her arms. Perhaps it was time she talked to Jon about another child.

Daenerys sighed and placed the blanket back over his vulnerable little body. Someone would have to spell him soon lest he grow to quickly and they couldn't have that, not with the children at the last stage before they journeyed into Kalabrys' land, where the sun never rose and dark clouds hid the stars. Her realm of darkness.

Koushiro gazed with trepidation at the path before them. Gigantic black thunderheads hurled bolts of purple lightning down into the shear walls of the canyon through which their destination lie. He could feel his courage, already flayed, crumble beneath the oppressive darkness of that chasm and he shrank away. Comforting arms reached up to support him as he stumbled and he looked up to find calm in Jyou, of all people.

He didn't say anything; just gazed at the path Taichi had ruthlessly forced them to trek in pursuit of their fleeing comrades. In his eyes was a kind of uncaring fearlessness, as though he no longer worried over the outcome, but simply followed orders.

They were dying, he realized, looking at the faces of his friends. There was nothing in their world that they founds joy in and therefore they had nothing left for which to fight.

"Are you sure they came this way?" Koushiro, his natural curiosity surfacing, studied their cold and dead looking surroundings, the bare black limbs of grotesquely twisted tress thrusting up from pristine snow and strange black clouds hanging ominously over that canyon, glowing ghostly blue, yawning before them like the mouth of some great, hungry beast.

As Taichi leveled those burning brown eyes on him, he realized that he had spoken his question aloud and felt panic hit him like the lightning overhead, jolting him to his shoes.

Taichi didn't say anything though, just as he hadn't said anything for days, he turned away silently and gazed at the shadows beyond those black clouds. Koushiro watched his profile for a few moments, wondering what could have gone so terribly wrong. After Mimi had left there had been the sulking, angry Taichi, everyone had been concerned, but not overly so. Then Sora had vanished and he'd been violent and abusive; insane even. Now he was silent, but still he drove them on to some destination known only to him.

Trembling in the aftermath of such absolute terror as he had felt in those moments before Taichi had turned away, Koushiro leaned more into Jyou and felt the arms tighten briefly around him. The embrace gave him hope. They were not broken, not yet, just badly bent. He smiled a little, looking around at his friends once again with new eyes. He could see the wounds in them, the lacerations ran deep, but if they managed to escape somehow before it was too late, he suspected that the scars would fade with time.

He stepped out of Jyou's embrace and looked each of his friends in the eye, or tried to, Hikari was the only one who returned his gaze. He smiled and hoped it was reassuring, of all she had suffered most. She smiled back in turn, a trembling, pathetic attempt, but a smile just the same, sometimes her strength amazed him.

The crunch of snow jerked his gaze away from Hikari and he focused on Taichi's back as he walked purposely down the path. Without comment, the others followed and Koushiro was left behind. He thought about just leaving, he could do it too, he knew that, with all their backs turned he could just turn around and fade back into the forests behind him. He almost did, almost left them all behind, but remembering that brief, silent exchange of smiles, the hopelessness, the sheer emptiness of his friends, and he knew he could not leave them. Matt had left them. Mimi had left them. Even Sora had deserted them. But he would not, they needed him and he would be there.

Slowly, he took first one step, then another, his legs feeling as though they were filled with lead, but it grew easier with each shoeprint he left behind and the darkness yawning before him didn't seem quite so terrifying as before. In fact, it almost looked welcoming, as though beckoning him home.

**Chapters to Come**

Abduction of Beauty

Face off with Flowers

The Clash of Power

A Feast of Evil

Dance of the Fearless

A Time for Friendship

Good-byes Can Last Forever


	16. Abduction of Beauty

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Abduction of Beauty

The glass winked back at her as the candle flames danced, revealing a stunningly beautiful face. Kalabrys smiled slowly, watching as her full, blood-red lips turned up at the corners, like the poised wings of a bird in flight. She knew, without vanity, that she was the most beautiful woman in the Digiworld and she worked damned hard to keep it that way. Honing her features in much the fashion as a samurai sharpening his sword.

With a wry twist of her lips, acknowledging that she was hardly here to gaze into her own eyes, she waved a hand dismissively, banishing the image of herself and summoning that of another in its place.

Large, golden eyes gazed into hers through the thick glass of her scrying crystal. The eyes were so sad Kalabrys just couldn't help the wide grin that split her face. _So easy, god this will be so easy._

A laugh escaped, filling the silence of the room, echoing even after her mirth had died.

"Tonight…" She softly promised the girl in the glass. "Tonight."

Mimi wondered through the foliage, beams of late noon sun lighting her path, a baby held awkwardly in her arms. At least he was sleeping. She didn't know what she would have done if he had been crying. In fact, since she'd woken yesterday and Daenerys had placed her baby in her arms for the first time, she hadn't known what to do. She'd smiled uncertainly then looked down into the clear blue eyes… of an ugly little stranger. She had felt no instant bond, no overpowering maternal affection, nothing but a vague sense of everything being wrong. At the same time she'd been studying the baby, he had apparently been studying her too because he'd scrunched up his fat, pink baby face and let out an angry wail.

Even now, thinking about the experience sent waves of panic sweeping through her. _Thank god he's sleeping_ she thought, if he started crying _again _she would probably bawl right along with him.

_It just isn't fair _she bemoaned, not for the first time. _It really isn't fair! _She sat down on a nearby rock as depression settled like a black cloud over her.

She didn't know how long she had sat there, locked into her own private hell, before something… (foreboding?) touched her mind. Blinking she realized that she had been staring into nothing. She shook her head to clear it of her dark, hopeless thoughts and only just caught a glimpse of the person heading towards her.

_Oh God! _Her foolish heart leapt at the sight of him. Matt had been an attractive boy, but as a man he looked like a movie star. She clutched the baby reflexively in her arms and he woke with a scream of protest. **_God_** she did _not_ need this now!

She looked down at the baby, _her _baby; and though fleetingly of just putting her hand over that pudgy, round face and silencing him.

"Here, let me." Two hands reached to take the baby from her. Horrified, she looked up into his face, hoping he didn't somehow know what she'd almost done. She had forgotten in that moment that Matt even existed, let alone was anywhere near. She relinquished the screeching bundle gratefully.

Watching him, Mimi saw a small smile curve Matt's lips as he cradled the baby naturally in his arms. A twisted sort of jealousy reared up inside her. The baby had stopped screeching almost as soon as Matt had folded him into his protective arms. She didn't love the baby, wasn't even sure if she ever could; yet seeing him settle happily in his father's arms, _not _screaming his head off, made her absolutely furious. What was wrong with her that made that baby hate her so?

"You doing okay?" Matt asked, rocking the baby slightly as his blue eyes roved over her body before coming to rest on her face, concern in their cerulean depths. _Was she doing okay? _Well she was more tired than she had ever been in her life, her whole body felt deflated, and she'd just had an urge to smother her baby? _Was she doing okay?_

"I'm fine." She told him, trying to smile. He frowned at her, but much to her relief he didn't argue, though she could tell he wanted to.

"You look tired." Was all he said, then looked down into the silent bundle in his arms. "You wouldn't mind…" He stopped as if not sure what to say, then, with a loud sigh that seemed to say "_in for a penny in for a pound_" he forged on. "I want to be a part of my son's life, Mimi."

Something ugly twisted inside her as she looked into Matt's eyes, saw the need there, the blossoming love for a baby she cared nothing of. She wanted to refuse him, for no other reason than she didn't want him to love the baby.

__

Something of the ugliness must have shown for he looked at her with sad eyes. "What's wrong Mimi?"

She wanted to tell him to mind his own business, to get lost, to give the baby back to her. She didn't want the it though, the baby didn't even feel like hers. God she didn't know what to do, but she was sure that she cared a lot for Matt, and that prompted her to be truthful, or at least as truthful as she could be.

"I don't know, Matt." She said, feeling defeated in some way. Perhaps it was because in a sense she had just given up.

She had surrendered her secrets to him with that simple confession.

Sora was worried. The emotions she was receiving from Mimi were intense and dark, twisted in some way. The aura was distinctly Mimi, but there was something there, interlaced with the emotions, like a poison creeping through the blood, slowly killing all that was her friend.

She had to talk to someone. Which was why she was wondering through the foliage after dark, hoping to meet someone on one of the paths since she wasn't at all sure where else to look. So far the only thing she had met that wasn't planted was one small, orange bird that was hopping through the plants, keeping pace for all the world as though it was following her.

Trying to ignore the silly thing she walked on. Her mind wondered hopelessly in circles, spinning around her friends. She was worried about the four of them for sure, their future, their mental health, their friendship, but she was terrified for the friends she couldn't contact. She had no idea what was happening with them, if they were alright, if they were even alive. It felt to her as though she should feel them, sense their emotions, she should _know._

She felt so useless.

Sighing she picked up her pace, but between one step and another, everything changed around her. One moment she was walking along the path and the next she found herself surrounded by gloomy, gray stone walls. She glanced around frantically, looking for some center of recognition. There was none, but there was a glowing, greenish light at the end of the long room. Slowly, she walked towards it.

_"I've been waiting for you." _A voice drifted to her ears, barely a whisper. Closer now, she focused on the kneeling figure, but waves of hair concealed the person's identity.

_"What do you want with me?" _Sora gasped, she recognized that quivering voice!

The ground suddenly felt as if it had dropped away from her and in less than a second, it was over. Feeling as if her head had just broke water, she gulped in huge breaths of air, her brain scrabbling for an anchor. She opened her eyes to see the ground a hell of a lot closer and shoved herself to her knees and then to her feet, rubbing her throbbing nose. Her hand came away smeared with blood.

But she couldn't worry about that now, she began running down the path. She had to get there before it was too late.

Jyou jerked awake. The ground was hard beneath the snow and he was shivering so bad it was a miracle he'd fallen asleep in the first place. At first he didn't know what had awakened him, but slowly the dream filtered into his conscious brain.

Sora had been there, he hadn't seen her but it was as though she was riding on his shoulders, seeing through his eyes, and he had been compelled forward towards the faint light. Voices had spoken, but he couldn't remember what had been said.

Sora's comforting presence had dropped away. Terrified of being left alone he'd turned to look behind him and his friends had been there, frightened and bunched together. But their group was still incomplete. He'd felt a sense of doom at that realization.

They couldn't win if they were separated.

_Win? _Win what?

Jyou had the unsettling sense that he had just glimpsed the future. Of course that was ridiculous, people couldn't see the future… could they?

She didn't know what had woken her, but she sensed something wasn't right.

Slowly she rose from the bed, succumbing to an overpowering urge to leave her room. She didn't remember actually walking and was surprised to realize that she was moving down a path away from the tree house. The ground rolled past beneath her bare feet, the hem of her gown bushed again her ankles as she walked, but she had no impression of moving.

Perhaps she was dreaming? It had that fuzzy unreality feeling. She stopped, blinking. Everything _was _fuzzy. Looking at her surroundings it seemed as if she was walking in a cloud, the path before her could go on forever or end within the next few steps. She couldn't see more than a few feet before her. To top it all off, the strange fog glowed with an inner light, illuminating everything in a pearly hue.

What was going on?

She turned to look behind her, but the path seemed to have disintegrated with each step she left behind. She was enclosed in a tight circle of dreamy mist. Choking down the insane urge to scream and scream until someone came for her, she strained her eyes, hoping to see even the outline of a shape.

Laughter erupted from somewhere behind her, sounding so close. Startled, she spun to see a faint figure flit past. "Wait!" She cried desperately. It must be the children playing in the fog, but why would they be out so late?

She ran down the path, following the shadows that seemed to dance, twisting, disappearing, then giggling hysterically as they lead her on a merry chase. "Wait!" she called again, panting.

_"Hurry! Hurry!"_ The amused voices drifted eerily clear through the fog. A shiver coursed down her spine. She had a bad feeling about this, but what choice did she have? On her own she would meander around for hours until either the fog cleared or someone found her. She quickened her pace.

The laughter of the children surrounded her now, she imagined them holding hands, skipping in a sinister circle around her and she felt tears clog her throat. Blindly she ran, terror giving her feet flight.

She glanced quickly over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being followed. When she saw nothing she slowed her step.

Suddenly from nowhere, a creature sprung up in front of her. Screaming, she dug in her heels and practically halted in her tracks.

The laughter grew and spiraled into a tornado as more shadows melted from the fog to become solid beings.

They were hideous little things. Small green elves with large, pointed ears and red, cat eyes. She screamed again.

And continued to scream when she felt something heavy settle over her and her world turned from pearly gray to black. She screamed and screamed and screamed.

The little creatures danced and laughed and carried her off.

**Chapters to Come**

Face off with Flowers

The Clash of Power

A Feast of Evil

Dance of the Fearless

A Time for Friendship

Good-byes Can Last Forever


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